Moyie Springs planning water main repairs

MOYIE SPRINGS — Facing emergency replacement of its water main, Moyie Springs officials are proposing to move the city water main to flatter terrain to better be able to access the well field and the filter plant booster station. 

On March 24, Moyie Springs’ main waterline failed resulting in a mudslide and the city no longer has access to its own water supply. Since then, the city has joined the Three-Mile Water District, but will not be able to stay on the system for an extended period. 

After the line began leaking it put weight and pressure on the joint, ultimately causing it to break, John Nelson, Moyie Springs Public Works superintendent, said. The result was a cascade effect as the weight and pressure caused one joint after another to fail. Ultimately, about 400 feet of the line failed. 

The city intends to construct a new water main to replace the failed one. Moyie is paying Century West Engineering $62,125 for engineering consulting services. 

The new line will cross through an undeveloped hillside below the Idaho Forestry Group log yard. 

Nelson said supply issues should not be a problem. Unlike past projects, the city can order 1,600 feet of pipe, which is more than what will be needed for the project. 

The new proposed route for the water line would bypass a trench formed by the mudslide caused by the leak. While the city could fill the trench at a later date, it will not be using that portion of the hill to access the city wells. Rather the plan is to access the well field from the north, Nelson said.

Idaho Department of Environmental Equality, which is loaning funds to Moyie Springs, is requiring the city to complete the project by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. 

City Councilman Les Love said he is concerned the city will be able to meet the necessary timelines, since the city will need an easement from Idaho Forestry Group to access the wells by a different route. 

He said easements take time and, in the past, getting an easement took six months.

Three-Mile Water will not service Moyie for six months, Nelson said. 

“I understand that, but that easement shouldn’t have taken as long as it did,” Love said. 

Moyie is also in the process of applying for a state revolving fund loan and American Rescue Plan Act grant application for $309,000 needed for the project. 

A IFG representative at the meeting said he’d pass information on to leadership to speed up the easement process. 

The preliminary layout and design of the project needs to be done before an easement can be documented and recorded, Ryan Luttmann, senior project manager with Century West Engineering, said at the meeting. 

“We can start designing before the easement, which is just lines on a piece of paper,” Luttmann said.

A special meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 11 at 4:30 p.m. to cover the waterline construction process, Idaho Forestry Group utility temporary easement and the sewer project easement with IFG. A special meeting is any meeting outside from the regular scheduled meeting time. 

Moyie Springs will be having monthly meetings on the progression of the water main replacement. The first meeting is Wednesday, April 17 at 10 a.m. and will be the third Wednesday of every month.