Idaho DEQ Awards $1.8 Million Low-Interest Loan to City of Lewiston for Drinking Water Contaminant Project
LEWISTON, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $1,800,000 in low-interest drinking water loan funding to the City of Lewiston in Nez Perce County, state officials announced Monday, targeting the removal of harmful emerging contaminants from the city’s drinking water supply.
The funding, disbursed through DEQ’s State Revolving Loan Fund, will be used to address PFOS and PFOA contamination — a class of synthetic chemicals linked to adverse health effects that have drawn increased regulatory scrutiny at the federal level in recent years. Lewiston’s project calls for constructing a carbon dioxide system at the city’s water treatment plant and decommissioning Well 4.
Favorable Loan Terms Represent Significant Savings for Lewiston Ratepayers
The loan carries a 0% simple interest rate and includes $1,800,000 in principal forgiveness, meaning the city is not expected to repay the full loan amount under standard terms. According to DEQ, the favorable structure represents approximately $2,724,895 in savings to the Lewiston community when compared to the average costs associated with municipal general obligation debt issuances.
For a city of Lewiston’s size, avoiding the burden of market-rate debt financing on a project of this scope offers meaningful relief to local taxpayers and utility ratepayers who would otherwise bear the cost through higher water rates or long-term bond obligations.
The State Revolving Loan Fund is capitalized annually through grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Emerging Contaminants program, which itself is funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
PFOS and PFOA: What Lewiston Is Addressing
PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are part of a broader family of compounds known as PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their resistance to breaking down in the environment or the human body. Federal regulators have identified these substances as a significant public health concern, and water systems across the country have been working to reduce or eliminate them from drinking water sources.
Lewiston’s approach — installing a carbon dioxide treatment system and taking Well 4 offline — reflects one of the more commonly recommended engineering strategies for addressing PFAS contamination at the municipal level. The decommissioning of a compromised well reduces the introduction of contaminants into the treatment system at the source, while the new treatment infrastructure addresses what remains in the water supply.
With construction infrastructure improvements actively underway throughout Lewiston, the drinking water project adds another layer of municipal investment to the city’s public works priorities this year. Night work on the Snake River Avenue project began April 20, reflecting a broader season of construction activity across Nez Perce County’s largest city.
What Comes Next
With the loan award now official, the City of Lewiston is expected to move forward with engineering and construction planning for the carbon dioxide treatment system installation and the decommissioning of Well 4. DEQ has not publicly specified a construction timeline based on the information available at this time.
The project will be funded through the federal EPA’s Emerging Contaminants program pipeline, administered at the state level by DEQ’s revolving fund structure — a model designed to recycle loan repayments into future water infrastructure awards for Idaho communities.
Lewiston residents and water utility customers can expect further updates from city officials as the project moves from award into the design and permitting phases. For broader statewide coverage of Idaho infrastructure and environmental quality funding, visit Idaho News.