$3.5M project will help Post Falls meet growth
The current Fisher Avenue wastewater site is just gravel above the surface. The city of Post Falls is installing a gravity sewer in Fisher Avenue this year as phase one of the project.
Courtesy photo
Post Falls is beginning phase one of the Fisher lift station project this year to install a gravity sewer on Fisher Avenue this year near the current infrastructure.
POST FALLS — A $3.5 million wastewater project in Post Falls is underway.
The new Fisher Lift Station is replacing the existing, outdated station and increasing the capacity to serve more development in that area.
“We feel we can complete the entire gravity sewer section within one construction season,” Project Manager Jaxon Fleshman said.
Phase 1 is the gravity sewer installation in 2026, Phase 2 is the creation of the new Fisher Lift Station in 2027, and Phase 3 is a gravity sewer extension line running north to Prairie Avenue and east to an existing, unused line, tentatively scheduled for the year after the Fisher Lift Station upgrades.
The city purchased the land in 2023 and 2024 for the new Fisher Lift Station site. Fleshman said the next steps involve annexing from Kootenai County to expand the city's footprint.
The city built the existing station in 2002 on Fisher Avenue, east of Howell Road.
Fleshman said the 2019 collection system master plan identified Fisher Lift Station as a project that needed to be completed. A 2021 Prairie and Idaho sewer study identified three projects over the next five to 10 years for phased improvements in the Fisher Sewer Basin.
“This is going from a local lift station to a regional lift station, which just means it’s processing a bit more water,” Fleshman said.
A local lift station has a capacity of less than 500 gallons per minute. Once it goes past that point, it becomes a regional lift system.
Improvements at the future lift station include backup power, equipment upgrades and overflow capacity.
Public Works Director John Beacham said the improvements will lead to the decommissioning of the Guy Road Lift Station.
Capacity fees fund the project, which Beacham said can be used to remedy existing deficiencies or expand the system.
"The way I think about it is, we need to replace pumps and some of the electrical gear about every 10 years on a lift station and a major rebuild of it about every 20 years," Beacham said. "We have approximately 30 lift stations, give or take. That’s about one and a half a year."
Post Falls City Council unanimously approved an engineering and design agreement with Welch Comer Engineers for the project.
Post Falls is beginning phase one of the Fisher lift station project this year to install a gravity sewer on Fisher Avenue this year near the current infrastructure.