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Utilities director outlines five-year plan and SB 64 compliance needs, flags major Northwest wastewater and Trout Creek water projects
Summary
Utility staff summarized a fast-paced review of the utilities CIP, noted a compliance deadline tied to Senate Bill 64 and outlined reliability and expansion projects including reliability skids, wellfield work, a large Northwest wastewater expansion and a new Trout Creek water plant that staff said must be online by mid-2029–2030.
In a utilities 'speed round,' the utilities lead reviewed dozens of line items across the enterprise fund and emphasized compliance and redundancy needs. Utility staff said the county must comply with elements of Senate Bill 64 and related requirements and identified the largest single items in the five-year plan: a major Northwest wastewater facility expansion (tens of millions in projected costs), a Trout Creek water-plant project estimated in the tens of millions, and multiple reliability and asset-management investments across wells, booster stations and lift stations.
The director explained that some projects are financed through a mix of enterprise funds, impact fees and planned bond proceeds, and that the board recently approved bond capacity to support 2027–2029 programs. On reliability, staff said additional reverse-osmosis skids and wellfield acidification programs are needed to maintain pump and water-quality performance; the director described adding a $6 million reverse-osmosis skid at one plant and separate well-field work costing $2.8 million for a new well.
Staff highlighted the importance of asset-management dollars for ongoing lift-station and telemetry work, and said the Northwest wastewater expansion is the biggest single utility project in the plan; the Trout Creek water plant, staff said, must be online by mid-2029 or 2030 to sustain service-level targets in growth areas. Several projects will be funded partially with bond proceeds, unit connection fees and debt proceeds tied to previously approved bond authorizations.
Utility staff said they will return with refined project schedules and financing recommendations; commissioners did not take formal votes at the meeting.
