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Boise pauses currently designed recycled water plant after costs soar; planning to continue while funding shifts to reliability projects
Summary
City staff told the Public Works Commission they have placed the currently designed advanced recycled-water plant on an indefinite pause after estimates grew from previous projections (about $350 million) to roughly $750 million; the recycled-water program remains active and staff will re-evaluate options while redirecting funding to urgent rehabilitation at West Boise and Lander Street.
The City of Boise’s Public Works staff told the Public Works Commission they have put the currently designed advanced recycled-water plant on an indefinite pause because the project’s cost has climbed far beyond earlier estimates.
Director Burgos told the commission the recommendation to pause the project “came down to cost” and that staff recommended — and council affirmed in June — an indefinite pause of the proposed plant because the city could not afford the project as currently scoped. “We just couldn’t afford the current project as it’s proposed,” he said.
Josh Baker, Water Renewal programs senior manager, said the project’s estimated price has grown substantially over time. He told the commission the utility-plan-era estimate for the plant alone (2017–18) was about $56 million, a later 2021/22 estimate was roughly $350 million, and the current estimate is about $750 million. Baker said the jump reflects increases in labor and materials, a higher level of treatment to meet public and regulatory expectations, and a change in project scope as planners refined the technology and sources used.
Staff emphasized the difference between the recycled-water program and the paused project. Baker said the program — which includes continued planning, partner coordination and examinations of alternative approaches such as groundwater recharge and broader municipal reuse — will continue. “The program is continuing on,” he said. The paused project specifically was the advanced treatment facility as designed for industrial reuse and aquifer recharge in southeast Boise.
Allie Hornak, water renewal utility planning manager, said staff will take more time to return to the commission and the public with lower-cost or alternative approaches. Hornak described staff plans to continue planning with industry partners, re-examine options opened by a 2025 change in Idaho law that allows municipal wastewater reuse, and to pursue funding scenarios that may make some form of recycled water feasible in the future.
As an immediate budgetary move, staff said they will divert some of the recycled-water project funding into higher-priority reliability and condition-related work at the city’s existing facilities — notably upgrades at West Boise and continuing Lander Street work. The commission was given preliminary capital planning figures showing a larger 10-year water renewal capital program, and staff said they will return in the fall with more detailed funding options and sequencing.
Staff framed the decision as a pause of the current design, not a cancellation of recycled water as a policy aim. “We are going to recycle water for the city of Boise at some point in the future,” Baker said. For now, city staff will prioritize protecting the Boise River and maintaining affordable, reliable service while seeking alternate approaches and funding pathways.
The commission did not take a formal vote on policy at this meeting; the minutes record the presentation, questions from commissioners, and the announcement that the council had affirmed staff’s recommendation in June.
