Recommendations made for North Side water tank following special City meeting

July 23, 2014

The Bonners Ferry City Council conducted a special public meeting Tuesday evening, July 22, to address ongoing concerns regarding the North Side water tank. Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and representatives from Welch Comer & Associates, Inc., an engineering firm consulting with the city on plans for the troubled tank. In spite of measures the City has taken since the problem was documented back in 2009, the tank has continued to have problems with entry of mice and "vermin" into the water tank, putting the water inside at risk of contamination. Periodic testing of samples from the tank have consistently shown no coliform bacteria to be present, and also adequate levels of chlorination. At last night's meeting, however, DEQ Drinking Water Analyst Suzanne Scheidt pointed out that some dangerous organisms, such as viruses, are not easily detected by laboratory testing, and could still be present in the water. Ms. Scheidt suggested that until the problem is fully solved, it would be prudent the public be made aware that in order to completely eliminate the risk of illness, bottled or boiled water should be consumed, especially by infants and elderly who are especially susceptible. At the time of this writing, the city has prepared such a notification, and a copy of that letter is included in another story on the NewsBF website. According to City Administrator Stephen Boorman, the city has continued to work on the problem of animal entry into the tank, and most recently has identified vent areas that might possibly be entry points. Those have had new screens placed. Also, brush around the tank has once again been cut back. Necia Maiani with Welch Comer & Associates, Inc. presented information on two possible long term remedies for the situation. The first involves constructing a new lid on the existing tank. This option would be the fastest and the least expensive, but does present some problems as the tank, installed back in 1922, possibly would not be able to structurally support the weight of the proposed concrete lid. The lid could potentially be mounted on footings separate from but surrounding the tank, but there is concern that even those footings might put excessive pressure on the tank walls. The second option would be to perform a complete analysis on the state of the tank and, if necessary, build a new tank in accordance with current regulations. Doing this analysis would require that the tank be emptied, and would introduce greater cost to the City. Domestic use of the water would not be affected by emptying the tank, but it would affect water use for firefighting if the need arose. However, the whole process of emptying the tank, inspecting it, and refilling it would only take two to three days. Estimates are that if only a new lid was needed, the cost would be approximately $100,000.  If a completely new tank is needed the cost would be roughly $225,000. The City Council determined to proceed with a full inspection of the tank, and, using the information resulting from that inspection, make their final determination on the course they would pursue as the ultimate solution to the problems of the tank. It is anticipated the inspection process will begin in early August. Once all data from the inspection are available and proposals for remediation prepared, everything will be submitted to the DEQ for approval. The DEQ representatives at the meeting indicated their office would expedite their review of all submitted plans and proposals, so the project could move forward as soon as possible.