City approves backflow program

SANDPOINT — The city’s long-running debate over backflow prevention was finally put to bed Wednesday when the council voted 4-2 to approve the contentious program.

Council members John Reuter, Carrie Logan, Stephen Snedden and John O’Hara voted in favor of the ordinance, with council members Michael Boge and Helen Newton dissenting.

The ordinance, which was designed to guard the city’s water supply against contaminated backflow from individual homes and businesses, has been on the agenda at six of the last seven full council meetings. The document was originally drafted in response to a 2008 survey conducted by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, which found a number of deficiencies in Sandpoint’s water system, most notably in its lack of an adequate backflow prevention ordinance.

Opponents of the ordinance argue the measure will be ineffective, intrusive and too costly for home and businesses owners, many of whom will have to pay for annual testing.

Sandpoint’s Fred Darnell has been one of the program’s biggest critics since it was unveiled last year. Darnell spoke out against the ordinance Wednesday night, calling it a colossal waste of time and money that smacks of “big brotherism.”

“So here we go, once again, on this thing,” he said. “There should have been a simple ‘no’ long ago on this ordinance, so everyone could move on to something that might have more value to taxpayers.”

The ordinance was put in place to meet DEQ requirements, but some council members have said the requirements — specifically in terms of who needs to be tested — are too vague. Unlike previous backflow debates, the council was able to question a DEQ official at Wednesday’s meeting.

Steve Tanner is Idaho DEQ’s engineering manager for North Idaho. He said the council’s previous efforts, which excluded single family residencies from testing requirements, did not meet DEQ standards. 

“If a system, such a Sandpoint, adopts an ordinance that doesn’t comply with our rules, then they’re basically putting themselves in a position to be disapproved by our department,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in the city that rely on having an approved drinking water system for home financing and business financing, so you really don’t want to put yourself in that position.”

With its passage, the ordinance will require all Sandpoint residents with testable backflow prevention units to undergo annual inspections, at a cost of approximately $50.

In other business, the council once again approved a water bond election, this time scheduled for Nov. 4. Reuter, Snedden, Logan and O’Hara voted in favor of the plan, with Boge and Newton dissenting. The $17 million bond, which was overwhelmingly shot down by city voters in May, would fund renovations to the lake water treatment plant.