Spill reinforces need for storm water program

SANDPOINT — A  June spill that dumped an oily film from a city storm water pipe into the Pend Oreille River did not prompt officials to address runoff.

Instead, it reinforced the importance of a work in progress.

“We had a spill,” Kody Van Dyk, Sandpoint Public Works director said. “We don’t know the source of it.”

It was a paint-like substance that poured from a storm water pipe into the river at Euclid Avenue, he said.

“This happened in mid-June and was reported to DEQ immediately,” Van Dyk said.

The milky substance clouded the water where children swam, he said.

The pipe was an outlet for a storm drain that collects runoff from Fifth Avenue and Pine Street, south along Euclid Avenue to the Pend Oreille River, he said.

A sample of the cloudy water was taken by a resident, but the source of the contamination was not pinpointed. The pollutant appeared to be diluted paint.

“The likely source of the liquid was someone rinsing paint brushes and dumping the liquid into the street or a curb inlet,” Van Dyk said.

At the time of the incident, city officials had already spent more than a year working on a plan that could stiffen city regulation of its storm water system.

“No one wants their kids to play in toxic substances,” City Council member John Reuter said.

He is among three council members on the public works committee who are addressing the storm water issue.

Reuter and Council member Carrie Logan began taking a closer look at the city’s storm water ordinance last year. When Jamie Davis, a member of the Storm Water and Erosion Education Program (SEEP) board of directors, joined the council in November, the three began working on a storm water master plan that could be unveiled for public comment in the next six months.

The plan will address an issue that is among the top three issues on the minds of city residents, Reuter said.

“The water quality of the lake,” he said. “It’s one of the big three.”

Storm water runs from streets and properties into storm drains on street corners. From there it flows into the lake or the Pend Oreille River.

“All of our storm drains don’t go into the sewer, they go directly into the lake, so it’s important for people to understand that,” Reuter said. “Don’t put anything in there that you wouldn’t put directly into the lake.”

The city’s existing storm water ordinance addresses new construction, Van Dyk said. It was meant to prohibit sediment and construction materials to flow from work sites into the watershed.

A new ordinance could be more stringent and more encompassing, he said. The city is working with an engineering firm to develop  its new storm water plan.

“Storm water is one of the most important issues when it comes to water quality and how to preserve water quality,” Reuter said.

He thinks the plan, once it is completed, will be a pragmatic approach to assuring a clean water system that can be embraced by city residents.

“We are addressing storm water to protect the water quality,” he said. “That is the key.”

The master plan is meant to minimize flooding, correct drainage deficiencies and enhance water quality in the lake and river, according to the city.