Last week the city council in Fruitland declared an emergency over the city’s water supply.
Jerry Campbell director of Public Works in Fruitland said Wednesday they suspect a build-up of sediment and silt is partially blocking the system that moves water from the Payette River to the water treatment plant.
It’s hard to tell exactly what the build-up looks like right now because of the high water levels.
CBS2 reports Fruitland city council members declared the situation an emergency on Monday June 8, “due to the inability to pump enough water to the Water Treatment Plant to sustain the needs of the City, thus threatening the health, safety and welfare of the Fruitland citizens.”
This move allowed the public works department to quickly get the funds they needed to hire a company that supplies equipment to pump water directly from the river.
According to city records, the “Rain for Rent” proposal was approved in the amount of $18,771.40 for delivery, installation, and take down of the emergency pumping equipment with a monthly rental fee of $27,781.16 per month.
Campbell says the equipment is ready. Now they’re waiting on approval from the DEQ to pump the water directly from the river, into the wet wells, which would then pump the water into the city’s water treatment plant.
They’re hoping river levels go down enough over the next few months so they can get a full look at the blockage.
