Coeur d’Alene council weighs two well deals for future water supply

The Coeur d’Alene City Council was set to hear two water deals that could shape how the city keeps pace with growth, with one purchase already near the finish line and a second site still waiting on testing.

The council agenda listed Resolution No. 26-044 and Resolution No. 26-045 for a 6 p.m. meeting in the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Community Room at 702 Front Avenue. Water Department Director Kyle Marine was the staff reporter on both items.

Resolution No. 26-044 would approve a real-estate purchase and sale agreement for property around the Locust Well from the Coeur d’Alene School District for $185,000. The city said $155,000 would come from Water Department Capital Fee funds, with another $30,000 covered by a Parks Department food trailer valued at $30,000.

The second item, Resolution No. 26-045, would authorize the Water Department to determine whether property at 632 E. Borah Ave. is suitable for a future well. If the site passes that test, the council could later approve a purchase from Coeur d’Alene School District #271 for $195,000.

The decisions land at a time when the city is leaning hard on the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, its only water source. The Water Department says Coeur d’Alene has 11 wells, can pump more than 42 million gallons per day, and serves more than 20,000 active water accounts. Average winter demand runs about 7 million gallons a day, while peak summer demand climbs to 35 million to 38 million gallons a day. In 2023, the department pumped just over 5 billion gallons.

That gap between routine demand and summer spikes is why the city appears to be securing well sites now rather than waiting for tighter conditions later. The Locust Well agreement would give the city a property foothold immediately, while the Borah Avenue proposal would move only as far as the council’s testing decision for now.

The Borah site carries extra local significance. The address is the longtime home of Borah Elementary School, which district leaders recommended repurposing in April 2024 amid a projected $6 million shortfall for fiscal year 2025. District staff said the move would save more than $1 million. At the time, Borah had 298 students and had been open since 1950. District leaders said the building could potentially become the new home of the Coeur d’Alene Early Learning Center.

For the city, the two resolutions point in different directions but toward the same goal: keeping water service reliable as neighborhoods add homes and businesses. For the school district, they also show how property once tied to education may now help fund or host another public need.