Growth versus infrastructure

North Idaho in particular, and Idaho in general, is experiencing rapid growth. Developers have converged on Idaho seeking to facilitate the availability of land that will be eagerly snapped up by transplants from other states who want to build their dream home.

Those of us who have lived in Idaho for multiple decades and have lived with the limited infrastructure are seeing previously open land cut up into minor and major subdivisions. One of the more frightening aspects of the building boom infecting North Idaho is the availability of water.

In the Rimrock area north of the city of Hayden water has always been a problem. In the Cougar Gulch area south of Coeur d’Alene water has been an issue as well. Decomposed granite is the common feature in both the Rimrock area and Cougar Gulch. These areas don’t have an aquifer like Rathdrum and Spokane. Instead, we have small fissures that contain trickles of water that are slowly recharged during the rainy period.

Most of the homeowners in the Cougar Gulch area have witnessed a decrease in the static water level in their wells since the well was drilled. Many homeowners have had their wells dry up necessitating deepening of the existing hole or drilling a new well in a different location. Cisterns and hydrofracking have been used by many homeowners to improve water availability.

The bottom line is: There is a limited water supply in the mountainous regions surrounding Coeur d’Alene. The trend is toward drier winters.

Developers buying tracts of land with the intention of subdividing and selling parcels don’t necessarily know or care about the water availability in the geological areas of decomposed granite. On the surface, these areas are beautiful and a desirable place to build a house.

Below the surface and unseen by the prospective buyer there exists limited water. Hydrogeologists are employed by developers to examine the well logs in an area one half mile from the prospective subdivision. These well logs are public record and filed with the county when the well is drilled. If the well was drilled 40 years ago and had a delivery rate of 7 gallons per minute that is what the hydrogeologist would use to prove there is enough water available for additional new homeowners. The fact that the well has diminished in delivery or has dried up completely isn’t recorded and isn’t taken into consideration by the developer’s hydrogeologist.

With data that can be decades old, obsolete and unrepresentative of current water availability, developers can meet the existing county planning codes and be allowed to sell land to new homeowners who will drill wells to further deplete the water supply.

New wells that extract water from underground fissures at the same depth as existing wells contiguous to the new development have an excellent chance of being impacted by a new well. In many cases in the Cougar Gulch area a new well has caused an existing well to go dry. Water wells cost in excess of $25 per foot to drill and develop. It doesn’t make financial sense to drill a well a lot deeper after hitting fissures that can deliver sufficient water to provide for household use.

As an example, recently a developer’s hydrogeologist proclaimed there was plenty of available water to support four new parcels with wells. The developer drilled a well on one of the new parcels and finally found 3 gallons per minute after drilling 1,155 feet to the tune of approximately $70,000. The surrounding property owners with shallower wells that found water at 275 feet, the same depth as the initial water bearing fissure found in this new well, are wondering how soon they will run out of water when a new house is built and the owner begins to use water.

It is imperative that we evaluate our ability to provide infrastructure to our existing population first, then establish how many new households we can support in a sustainable fashion. Data needs to be gathered and codes need to be changed to reflect the conservation of our available resources.

The Kootenai County Community Development director has stated there is a water study in the works; however, funding (approximately $17,000) hasn’t been made available yet to start the project.

Idaho has a tremendous surplus of funds that our governor would like to give back to the taxpayers. It would be important to find some money within that surplus to fund a water study rather than allowing development to comply with codes that don’t reflect what water is actually available, to the detriment of existing homeowners and new prospective homeowners who would have expectations of a working toilet and shower.

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Doug Albertson is a 40-year resident of Coeur d'Alene.