Idaho's Farmers And Cities Unite To Clean Waterways

Farmers and cities are trying to work together in Idaho.

“There’s a lot of partnership that goes into flushing your toilet or draining your tub," said Andy Waldera, an attorney who represents Pioneer Irrigation District in Caldwell. These groups generally fall on opposite sides of the water pollution debate, with cities blasting farmers for runoff that winds up in the water supply. Nitrogen and phosphorus from farms fuel algae growth and place a burden on water treatment plants.

A new plan proposed by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) brings the groups together. It includes "a complex scientific model, vetted by all, which says phosphorus levels can be reduced to a fifth of today’s levels. City residents, anglers, boaters, farmers and industrialists have reached a consensus on how to clean up 15 Mile and other waterways that irrigate and drain tens of thousands of acres in the Boise River Valley," the Idaho Statesmen reported.

The endgame is to get stretches of the Boise River down below .07 milligrams per liter of phosphorus for May to September. Overseers also want the overall annual average limited to 150 milligrams per square meter, equating to a fifth of the current phosphorus levels.

"Most of the clean-up will be voluntarily done by farmers like Glen Edwards of Meridian, who has converted some of his land to no-till techniques that reduce the amount of soil that runs off into ditches and, eventually, the river," the report said.

Cities have already stepped up, according to the report. "The requirement that Boise River communities reduce phosphorus pollution grows out of rules based on the Clean Water Act’s mandates that all of the nation’s rivers be cleaned up. The challenge has been that the EPA regulates 'point sources' — specific sources such as sewage systems or industrial plants — but has no authority over the numerous, smaller 'non-point' sources such as farm fields," the report said.

Results are not expected overnight. The river "will get cleaner soon, when Boise begins operating its $24 million Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Plant at its West Boise wastewater treatment facility as early as next month. The overall cleanup is going to take at least another 20 years. After the public has had its chance to comment, the U.S. EPA has to sign off. But that’s expected relatively quickly, because it has been involved closely with the process," the report said, citing Jim Werntz, EPA Idaho operations director.

It's not the first time the region has tried to reduce phosphorus levels. "Boise officials tried to set up a pollution-trading program a decade ago. But those efforts failed, and Boise had to build a $22 million plant to remove phosphorus from its discharges," the Idaho Statesmen reported in an earlier piece.

Idaho cities are also working to clean up the Spokane River after the federal government cracked down on them last year.

"Federal officials issued permits to three northern Idaho cities that limit how much pollution can be put into the Spokane River," The Seattle Times reported.

Under the new mandate, these cities must lower phosphorus discharges into the Spokane, one of the most polluted in the state. The rules say discharges must be cut by 90 percent over ten years by Coeur d'alene, Post Falls, and Hayden.

To read more about efforts to keep waterways clean, visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solution Center.