Greenferry Water and Sewer District

Greenferry Water and Sewer District, south of the Spokane River near Post Falls, Idaho, manages two community water wells as a regulated community drinking water system in accordance with Idaho Rules for Public Drinking Water Systems. In 2020, service connections increased to approximately 400, serving an estimated 1000 people. The District has no sewer system at this time.

The Greenferry Water District website states: “At Greenferry Water and Sewer District, we are committed to providing safe, high quality water services to our community, while maintaining a standard of excellence in customer service and environmental conservation.”

The Bayshore Estates Subdivision proposal has long been a conundrum for the Greenferry Water District board, committed to serving that subdivision with domestic water. When the developer submitted his 2018 rezone request, the Greenferry Water and Sewer District raised concerns about the issue of well pollution from high-density septic tanks. District manager John Austin wrote a series of three letters referencing the District’s concern that a large portion of the proposed development lies adjacent to the site of the District’s two wells, and that contamination of the Greenferry water supply might occur from high-density septic tank introduction.

In 2020, even after Kootenai County Community Development recommended approval of the Bayshore Estates preliminary plat, District Board Chairman Steve Tanner stated in a letter to the Kootenai County commissioners that the water table under the proposed 57-home subdivision is completed in an alluvial fan at the mouth of Cedar Creek where it joins the Spokane River. He said this situation provides a significant hydrodynamic head which can drive groundwater and contaminants towards the Greenferry wells. He also stated that as the District acquires additional water rights to increase pumping capacity of its wells, accelerated pumping could potentially draw septic contaminants into the wells.

Nevertheless, the District has issued the Bayshore Estates developer a number of will-serve letters since 2018. These will-serve documents contain a number of stipulations requiring the developer to make contributions to District infrastructure and to donate a location (within the Bayshore Estates Subdivision) for a possible third well.

The Greenferry Water District has contracted with Welch Comer Engineers In Coeur d’ Alene for a facility plan that analyzes present and future infrastructure and capacity of the Greenferry water system. A Welch Comer power point presentation to the Greenferry board of directors on November 9, 2020, underscored current deficiencies in both the District’s infrastructure and capacity in terms of future water demand. Underfunded for major system upgrades, the District needs to upsize its wells, increase its pumping and storage capacity, enlarge its transport system and solve its water loss challenges. This is why contributions from the Bayshore Estates developer may remain a temptation for the District.

The District’s board of directors is currently chaired by Steve Tanner. The other four board members are Robert Stiger, Ron Utz, Carol Rassier and Rex Grace. Office manager is John Austin. The five board members are elected and if a member leaves office before the end of his six-year term, another interested person can be appointed to complete that term.

Minutes of monthly board meetings and other District matters and activities can be found at the above website link.