Harvard seeks fixes for failing wastewater system
As sewage ends up on the ground, the small town looks for grants and solutions to costly problem
HARVARD — The residents of Harvard are struggling to find solutions as the small town’s wastewater system continues to fail.
“This is beyond a crisis for us,” said resident Dale Waters.
Waters serves on the volunteer board of the town’s Hoodoo Water and Sewer District that is trying to find both short-term and long-term fixes to the problem.
The wastewater system, engineered by Ruen-Yeager & Associates, was activated in 2010. After years of attempted repairs and increasing water and sewer rates, the system fails to prevent sewage from ending up on the ground, which is next to a creek.
“I’ve seen these systems and basically that’s just a failed system,” said Leonard Johnson, who was hired by Hoodoo Water and Sewer District to try to repair the system three years ago.
Johnson joined Latah County Commissioner Kathie LaFortune, other members of the Hoodoo Water and Sewer District Board, a representative from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and a staff member for civil engineering firm Mountain Waterworks on Wednesday to take a look at the system.
Johnson discussed the list of problems for the system that is hooked up to approximately 35 homes. It includes issues like inadequate drainage, pumps that are not keeping up with the flow of water, and a saturated drain field.
Johnson said he is not pointing the blame at anyone, but it is clear the system is not functioning the way it should.
“Right now, all we know is that this system is not working,” he said.
The residents’ water and sewer rates go up each year, but that alone cannot pay to solve a problem of this magnitude, which will likely cost millions to fix.
“I know a lot of these people that live in rural areas like this are elder, they’re on social security, they’re on a set income so when you go and you bump their rate up $60-70 extra a month, it really affects them,” Johnson said.
Kenny Merten, Harvard resident and board member for the Hoodoo Water and Sewer District, said the consequences go even further. The failing wastewater system could prevent residents from getting the county permits they need to rebuild their home if, for example, their home is damaged in a fire.
There are grant dollars available to fix the system. On Wednesday, the Hoodoo Water and Sewer District board voted to retain Mountain Waterworks as an engineer to plan upcoming facility upgrades.
This is one of the first steps the district must take to receive grant dollars from DEQ. Kristina Gillespie-Jaques, Mountain Water Works business manager, said Harvard can apply for those funds when they are made available in July. There is also the potential for grant funding from Latah County.
LaFortune said that even though grants may be available, the timeframe between applying for any kind of grant to actual construction is lengthy.
“But in the meantime, we have raw sewage on the ground,” she said.
That is why the district is working to find temporary solutions to curb the problem before long-term fixes are made.
On Wednesday, the board members discussed multiple ideas such as building a lagoon or hiring someone to haul the sewage away on a regular basis. However, these will also likely bring significant costs.
“You’re not going to keep up with hauling it every day,” Johnson said. “And then who’s going to take it? Because whoever takes it, it costs money to process it.”
Harvard is currently pursuing grant money for another infrastructure failure. Last year, the pumping capacity of its 105-foot-deep well dropped significantly and the county declared an emergency.
Waters said Harvard residents feel discouraged by this ongoing ordeal and disheartened by trying to navigate the cost and complexity of the issue.
“We’re not engineers,” he said. “We’re not civil engineers or even geologists, we don’t understand this stuff.”
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
