Comore Loma water worries solved?

The Comore Loma subdivision in the Ammon foothills has faced water problems for several summers, but the Comore Loma Water Corporation hopes to solve them with its new plan.

Homeowners on Red Bluff Lane routinely have their pipes run dry in the summer months. Burdett Hoskins said the new plan underway is way past due.

“It was to the point that I was putting a bucket of water in the shower and using a ladle,” said Hoskins. “Similar to the way I did when I served a mission for the LDS church in the Philippines.”

Another homeowner, Douglas Ball, could tell when the tank was nearly out on his morning runs.

“I’d wake Michelle up and say, ‘if you want to shower today, you better do it right now because in about 15 minutes we’re not going to have any water,'” said Ball.

Jake Dustin, the president of the Comore Loma Water Board said those problems are being addressed right now.

“The whole project consists of a new well, a couple new booster stations and a couple of new storage tanks,” said Dustin. “I think the storage tanks are going to be a big boon for us.”

Dustin said the fixes won’t be complete for another year.

“We think having the extra storage and huge increase in our boosting capacity will help us get the water where it needs to be, and keep the system equalized in the summertime,” said Dustin.

The development agreement calls for the well to come in at 1,000 gallons per minute, but Ball and his neighbors are skeptical.

“What the engineering studies have said is that, in all likelihood, that well is going to come in at 500 to 700 gallons a minute,” said Ball.

That coupled with Skidmore Inc. adding another division of homes leads Ball to believe an additional well will be necessary. Skidmore Inc. has vowed to add another well, but Ball’s not entirely convinced.

“Even though the developer said he’s going to, he’s not willing to put it into writing that he will do it and that’s further concern,” said Ball. “I think if he was going to do it he would say, ‘Make it part of the development agreement, I’m fine with doing that.'”

Dustin said as the development grows, so will the water system, but he believes the planned improvements will be more than enough to keep the water flowing on Red Bluff Lane. Until then, a temporary bypass will attempt to alleviate the problem for homeowners. The fix was made at the end of the summer, but with the unusual amount of rain both the homeowners and the Dustin said this summer will be the true test.