A brief history of our Sewer District.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OUTLET BAY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT

Outlet Bay Water and Sewer District (OBSD) was incorporated in October 1971.  The service area is approximately 7 square miles, which ranges from Outlet/Kokanee to the South to Lamb Creek to the North along both sides of Highway 57 including the West shoreline of Priest Lake from Outlet to the southern extreme of Luby Bay.  Upon its formation, OBSD became obligated to serve all commercial and residential properties within the service area.

At that time, an analysis of the existing sewage systems in the service area determined that the existing systems; 1) did not protect the public health from degradation of drinking water in the area, 2) were generally unacceptable levels of treatment, and 3) did not allow future population growth.

The initial system design was targeted to meet the needs for a 20-year period ending in 1997, with an anticipated life span of 50 years.  The summer design flow of 120,000 gallons per day was the design criteria.  The system was developed in phases, where:

• Phase 1 serves the Kokanee and Outlet Bay area. This phase was completed in 1979 at a cost of $467,500 which was funded through a $367,500 Bond plus $100.000 in Grants.  This phase also included building the initial treatment facility and lagoon which is in the Outlet Bay area.

• Phase 2 serves the Highway 57 corridor from Outlet/Kokanee to Lamb Creek. This phase was completed in 1984 at a cost of $409,800 funded through a Bond.

• Phase 3 serves the West Lakeshore Road area from Outlet Bay to Shoshone Point on the West side of Priest Lake. This phase was completed in 1994 at a cost of $581,465 funded through a Bond.

Hill’s addition – In 1999 Hill’s Resort was added to the service area for OBSD.  Hills paid for the interconnect to OBSD’s transmission line and paid a $75,000 hookup fee.  OBSD maintains the infrastructure at Hill’s but charges Hill’s for any parts required.

Wastewater Treatment Upgrade.  The existing (leaking) lagoon was replaced by 2 new lagoons and related treatment equipment.  This was completed in 2003 for a cost of $3,085,000 which was funded through a $3.5M Local Improvement District (LID) which equated to $3,693 per ERU.  This LID will be fully paid and retired in 2023.

Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) -- Each connection to the OBSD infrastructure is measured in terms of an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU).  An ERU is defined as a household containing 3 bedrooms and related facilities which generate sewage.  Commercial and other facilities are evaluated by specific criteria that equate to a number of ERUs per facility.  The following table shows the growth of our service area in terms of ERU annually.

A FEW FUN FACTS:

OBSD was initially staffed by 2 employees, one full-time Operations position and one part-time Office Management position.  Today, with growth over 4 times the initial number of ERU’s, we still only have those 2 positions staffed.

Our annual treatment volume is presently approximately 15 million gallons per year which equates to approximately 70 gallons per day per ERU.

Our system contains 20 lift stations with 2 pumps each along with a headworks/screening facility, 8 floating aerators in our 2 lagoons, a chlorine contact disinfection chamber, and 46 acres of land application area.

Our present treatment system has the capacity for 907 ERUs for a total of 29.6 million gallons per year.  293 ERUs of service have been purchased but not yet connected (obligations) with 606.97 ERUs in service.

Our quarterly rates have changed only 4 times in the past 39 years with our rate increases at or below the rate of inflation over that period of time.

LOOKING FORWARD:

Immediate upgrades are required to bring our Phase II capacity to approximately 1100 ERUs for a cost of $930,000 which will be funded by System Development Charges (currently $13,500 per ERU).  The primary choke points in our collection system will be upgraded in the next few years to increase our capacity.

Additionally, several system upgrades are projected which will keep our facilities in compliance with Department of Environmental Quality requirements.

Lastly, our two employees Kari Davis (Office Administrator) and Fritz Broschet (Operations) will be retiring in 2029.  We have a well-documented system and outstanding records, but there is still significant knowledge transfer that will be required to bring on new and/or replacement employees.  Additionally, the licensing requirements for the operation of our facility require approximately four years of experience and certification so we will need to begin working toward bringing a new Operator up to speed in the near future.