Eagle Sewer District outlines Class A reuse plan; residents press concerns about PFAS and canal distribution

Eagle Sewer District Director Neil Jenkins told the Eagle City Council on April 14 that the district has submitted a Department of Environmental Quality application for a Class A reuse permit and expects a draft permit late this year with a final permit in spring 2027, after which local irrigation and distribution work could follow.

"We've submitted the application and it's in DEQ review," Jenkins said, describing filtration stages (5‑micron on site; 2‑micron filters and ultraviolet disinfection expected later this summer and fall) and a pressure pipeline routing toward an outfall at the Farmers Union Ditch. Jenkins said the district currently treats roughly 2.8 million gallons a day and is preparing infrastructure and monitoring to meet DEQ requirements.

The presentation reiterated that Eagle Sewer District and the Farmers Union Ditch Company are separate public entities and that in October 2024 the two boards signed a 25‑year agreement giving Farmers Union distribution rights to Class A reuse water. Jenkins said the agreement remains in force and that the sewer district is responsible for producing and certifying water quality to the point of delivery; once water is in the ditch the Farmers Union will control its distribution.

Council members pressed several technical and governance points: how monitoring and ongoing testing would work, what happens if water does not meet Class A standards, whether adjacent shareholders had been notified, and whether additional treatment to potable standards was economically feasible. Jenkins said the district will verify Class A quality at the facility before water leaves in a pressure pipeline and that, if required monitoring shows water failing specifications, the district would retreat or divert the flow back to the Boise treatment system.

Public comment at the meeting — the council took a large block of testimony — focused on long‑term contaminants. Richard Llewellyn, who identified himself as a PhD in biochemistry, warned about PFAS and persistence in soil and groundwater: "PFAS ... are circular hazardous substances in drinking water. That means Superfund level." Other commenters (farmers, homeowners and irrigation shareholders) expressed concern that treated effluent could recharge private wells, enter the food chain via irrigated crops and livestock, and reduce property values.

Multiple residents also complained about notice and governance of the Farmers Union decision. Several speakers said shareholders learned about the contract after it had been executed and urged more transparency and, in some cases, legal review of Farmers Union board processes.

The district responded that the project was developed to keep water local — for summer irrigation and winter aquifer recharge — and that the technology and monitoring plans are being advanced incrementally. Jenkins said choices about whether water ultimately becomes potable would require substantially higher treatment and costs (staff recounted prior engineering estimates in the tens of millions to reach potable standards), and that the district's current work focuses on meeting DEQ's Class A reuse requirements for irrigation.

What's next: Jenkins and staff expect equipment deliveries and installation this summer and fall, and design completion for the reuse pipeline targeting summer 2027 distribution. Residents and councilmembers asked staff and district leadership to pursue additional public outreach, provide further water‑quality data used for permitting, and to clarify options if Farmers Union seeks to end or modify the agreement.