DEQ awards nearly $52 million to six drinking water and wastewater systems across Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced the award of $51,335,442 in construction grants to six drinking water and wastewater systems.

These construction projects are funded from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Governor Brad Little directed to DEQ in 2022.

“Water is our most valuable resource, and we absolutely must keep up the infrastructure to ensure water is clean and plentiful for this generation and future ones. That is why we made historic investments in water quality and quantity this year as part of my ‘Leading Idaho’ plan,” Governor Little said. “These investments also could keep your property taxes low. Property taxes are determined locally but the investments we made in water and other infrastructure needs at the state level help relieve the burden on local government to cover costs of projects, improving the chances property owners won’t be burdened with the costs,” said Governor Little.

The following entities received funding:

• City of American Falls – The city of American Falls in Power County was awarded $11,460,250 to construct a new well, install a water meter and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, and improve on their current water distribution system.
• Carlin Bay Property Owners Association – Carlin Bay Property Owners Association in Kootenai County was awarded $1,814,678 to continue their existing drinking water improvements, including a new lake intake, constructing a new treatment plant and reservoir, conducting reservoir repairs, and improving distribution line and a pump station.
• City of Franklin – The city of Franklin in Franklin County was awarded $989,321 to aid in phase three of their drinking water project. This phase consists of rehabilitating the equalization tank, installing an additional treatment skid, and replacing pumps.
• City of Preston – The city of Preston in Franklin County was awarded $14,966,534 to continue constructing wastewater treatment plant improvements, including new headworks, flow equalization, a tertiary filtration system, improved secondary treatment and clarifiers, and a redundant treatment capacity.
• City of Rupert – The city of Rupert in Minidoka County was awarded $16,056,272 to design and construct a membrane bioreactor, secondary filtration, and a UV disinfection process. These improvements will update the facility from a class-B reuse facility to a class-A facility and provide additional redundancy.
• Yellow Pine Water Users Association – Yellow Pine Water Users Association in Valley County was awarded $6,048,387 to complete phase one of their drinking water project. This phase consists of intake modifications, construction of a new water treatment facility, storage reservoir modifications, water main replacement, and easements.