Water Sector News
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Working out Lewiston's wastewater woes
Nate Smith confidently grabbed a handful of brown material from a conveyor belt at Lewiston's wastewater treatment plant and began squeezing it like Play-Doh.
The biosolids he was touching are part of what's left after the plant processes what's flushed down every Lewiston toilet.
As supervisor of the facility that essentially is the city's colon and urinary tract, Smith understands how fragile the system he oversees was before a $34.1 million renovation that will be finished in August.
The project is one of six at various stages that together will cost in excess of $80 million. (See accompanying list.)
------At the sewer plant, located in North Lewiston near the Clearwater River Railroad Bridge, the city is getting help through a loan from Idaho's state revolving fund. The money is being repaid with a one-time 40% hike in Lewiston's sewer and water rates that started in fiscal year 2018-19.
City officials believe the investments are essential to the community's vitality and are being completed as inexpensively as possible without sacrificing performance.