Idaho Awards $1.8 Million to City of Lewiston for Drinking Water Contamination Project
LEWISTON, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $1.8 million to the City of Lewiston to fund a construction project aimed at addressing contaminants found in the city’s drinking water supply, state officials announced Tuesday.
According to the department, the funding will support two specific actions at Lewiston’s water treatment plant: the construction of a carbon dioxide system and the decommissioning of a well. Both measures are intended to address PFOS and PFOA, a class of synthetic chemicals known as emerging contaminants that have drawn increasing scrutiny from public health officials and regulators across the country.
What Are PFOS and PFOA?
PFOS and PFOA belong to a broader family of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These man-made compounds have been used for decades in a wide range of industrial and consumer products, from non-stick cookware to firefighting foam. Because they do not break down easily in the environment or the human body, they have earned the nickname “forever chemicals.”
Federal and state regulators have increasingly moved to set enforceable limits on PFAS compounds in public drinking water systems after research linked long-term exposure to a range of health concerns. For communities like Lewiston that rely on wells and surface water sources in areas with historic industrial or military activity, addressing these contaminants has become a growing infrastructure priority.
The Idaho DEQ’s award reflects the state’s recognition that aging water infrastructure and emerging chemical contaminants present real challenges for municipalities working to protect public health on limited budgets. For more details on the award, see the full DEQ announcement regarding the $1,800,000 award to the City of Lewiston.
Project Details and Scope
The $1.8 million grant will fund construction of a carbon dioxide system at the city’s existing water treatment plant. Carbon dioxide-based treatment is used in water systems to adjust pH levels and support the effectiveness of other treatment processes, helping facilities meet water quality standards more efficiently.
In addition to the new treatment infrastructure, the project will include the decommissioning of a well identified as a source of PFOS and PFOA contamination. Removing that well from service is a direct step toward reducing the introduction of those contaminants into Lewiston’s water supply.
Together, the two components represent a targeted approach to bringing Lewiston’s drinking water system into compliance with evolving federal and state standards for emerging contaminants — without placing the full financial burden on local ratepayers.
Lewiston has seen an active period of infrastructure work in recent months. The city is simultaneously managing night construction work on Snake River Avenue, reflecting broader efforts to address aging roads and utilities throughout the Lewis-Clark Valley.
Fiscal Responsibility and Local Impact
For Lewiston residents and ratepayers, the state award represents meaningful relief. Water infrastructure upgrades of this nature can carry significant costs that, without outside funding, would typically be passed on to utility customers through rate increases. By securing state environmental quality dollars, city officials can move forward on a necessary public health improvement without placing an outsized tax burden on local households and businesses.
Lewiston’s water system serves a substantial portion of Nez Perce County’s population, and the quality of that supply has direct implications for families, employers, and institutions throughout the region — including Lewis-Clark State College and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, both of which depend on the city’s municipal water infrastructure.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality administers funding programs designed to help cities and counties meet state and federal water quality requirements. Awards like the one granted to Lewiston are part of the state’s broader effort to support communities facing the cost of complying with increasingly stringent standards for contaminants that were not widely regulated until recent years.
What Comes Next
With the $1.8 million award now announced, the City of Lewiston is expected to move forward with the construction phase of the carbon dioxide system installation and begin the formal process of decommissioning the identified contaminated well. Residents can expect further updates from city officials as project timelines and contractor selections are finalized. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has not released a projected completion date for the work, but the award signals that construction is expected to proceed in the near term.