Rathdrum well engine overheats during extreme temperatures

Rathdrum officials ask residents to reduce their water consumption after a good engine overheated due to increased user demand during Tuesday's 108-degree weather. 

Alarms alerting the city of a malfunction went off about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Rathdrum City Administrator Leon Duce said. Staff later discovered that the engine that runs the pump overheated, which triggered a decrease in reserve levels, Duce explained. 

"It has never happened before," Duce said. "We are hearing from the contractor that they have seen some pumps overheating ... so we are trying to figure out what is the cause." 

He said he suspects that the series of 100-degree temperatures and increased water consumption likely created the issue. Last summer, the city hit a peak of 6 million gallons of water pumped into the city in one day, but this week shattered that record. 

"In the last couple days of high demand, we've gone through 7.5 million gallons of water per day," he said. "That is 1.5 million gallons more than our peak last year. A lot of that is due to the increased temperature and irrigation."

Five wells within city limits currently pump water from the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer into the tank as a backup reserve, Duce explained. That tank then services the community's drinking and irrigation water needs. 

The remaining four working wells can supply a sufficient amount of water for domestic uses, Duce assured. Still, the city asks residents to cut their consumption until a replacement pump is installed. A few areas might see a slight drop in water pressure, like the new Brookshire subdivision, but nothing considerable. 

"If you water (your property) three times a day, maybe cut down to one. If you're watering for 30 minutes throughout the day, cut that back to 20," he said. "We're not asking for a complete shutdown of irrigation systems, but we are asking for people to help us conserve water while we get this fixed." 

The city anticipated the new motor would be up and running by Friday afternoon. Total costs for the new engine are still unknown, he said. 

For updates and information regarding the well, citizens can check the city of Rathdrum website, rathdrum.org, Facebook page and sign up for email alerts.