Equipment failure causes wastewater discharge at Sandpoint plant

SANDPOINT — About a month ago, an equipment malfunction caused 300-500 gallons of partially treated sewage to leave Sandpoint’s wastewater treatment plant, the city of Sandpoint announced Monday. 

The accident occurred 6:26 a.m. Feb. 24 after a sensor failure caused pumps at the facility to unexpectedly shut down. Wastewater briefly overflowed onto the facility’s parking lot and into the chlorine contact chamber. Operators identified the problem and restored all systems by 7:05 a.m. 

In a March 24 press release, the city reported that Sandpoint is in the process of upgrading controls at the facility and has implemented interim manual operation safeguards to prevent similar accidents in the future. 

During a March 19 City Council meeting, city staff reported that Idaho Department of Environmental Quality personnel audited Sandpoint’s wastewater plant after the incident occurred. 

Sandpoint officials and staff have emphasized the need for improved wastewater infrastructure and have begun preparing to replace the facility. A contractor is expected to deliver a draft preliminary engineering report for a new plant in April, and city staff have said that Sandpoint intends to bring a bond that would fund construction to voters in the November 2025 election.