Island Park water issues boil order

ISLAND PARK, Idaho (KIFI) - The boil order in Island Park continues, and it is shedding light on big problems within the the Island Park Water Company (IPWC), according to public comments on the Idaho Public Utilities Commission website.

IPWC's customers are sharing nightmare stories of broken lines, poor water pressure and now health scares at the start of tourist season.

The company allegedly even charged residents to fix breaks in the water line that weren't even on their property.

Kelsey Carter, a Drinking water analyst with the Department of Environmental Quality(DEQ), tells us many customers of IPCW working with the DEQ choose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.

One customer wrote, "we need safe and reliable water year a round. This past month we stayed at a hotel because we were concerned about water issues, and that shouldn't be the case. We are not concerned about the $280 annual fee, but we are concerned with it appearing not to be spent on improvements of the water system."

One Island Park resident volunteered for an interview.

Brian Anderson and his wife had planned to renovate their home this summer, but now he tells us they worry they won't have any clean drinking water.

"Obviously everyone is very interested as as we are in making sure that the water continues to be available and reliable, and of course, safe to drink," Anderson said.

In an Affidavit, Kelsey Carter writes she found 93 significant deficiencies in IPWC's system’s design, operation, and maintenance in October 2022.

She says with proper maintenance and response the boil order could have been avoided completely.

"The main lines were documented in the sanitary surveys in October as being broken," Carter said. "So they also could have been corrected prior to snowfall in Island Park."

Carter says, to date, there have been no plans submitted by the water company to make the required and necessary changes identified in October 2022.

We reached out the Island Park water company for comment, they have not yet responded.

There will be a public meeting in Island Park about the boil order next Tuesday. We will have continuing coverage of the outcome.