July 2021 STATUS
Why doesn’t the system have the capacity to meet demand in the summer?
- Parts of the KCWD#1 community water system are very old (and breaking frequently), out of compliance, and are not sized correctly for the peak demands during the current hot summer heat spells. In addition, we still have a significant loss of water produced due to the numerous recurring old main breaks season to season, and leaks that may be undetectable on the ground surface.
- Until two years ago, the District had not developed an Engineering or Funding plan to fix these issues that are decades overdue. The issues with the system continued to deteriorate over the years and were dealt with by emergency repairs, and unfortunately, continue to deteriorate.
What is the plan?
- A $2M Bond was passed by the KCWD #1 voters in November 2019.
- In 2020, Idaho DEQ approved a loan of $2M at 1.75% interest with a 30 year payback, contingent on an approved Engineering Facility Plan. We also received a $60,026 loan principal forgiveness in 2020. We just received a notification that we will be offered an additional $300,000 loan principal forgiveness.
- After working with the long-time historical District Engineering firm in 2020-2021, it became clear to the Board that we were not working with an Engineering firm that was able to address the Plan details required for DEQ approval. The Board, through the Idaho State mandated process, sought and contracted with a new Engineering firm at the end of March 2021.
- The new Engineering firm found, unfortunately, that the water system model originally submitted was outdated and incorrect. The water model is the critical starting point to correctly model and calculate any replacements or additions to the water system. Keller Associates began work on correcting the water model and collecting the other information to prepare the Engineering Facility Plan in April. In late June, early July 2021, they began collecting actual pressure readings around the District to verify that water model.
We cannot begin, or fund, work until we have a DEQ approved plan. Realistically, implementing the scope of work necessary to significantly improve system reliability will not be complete until 2023 at the earliest, with the bulk of the work starting in 2022.
