Rathdrum public works staff completed an emergency repair late Monday night after a private contractor damaged the city’s main sewer force main earlier in the day. 

TDS Telecom accidentally struck and damaged the main while performing directional boring work, according to the city. The 8-inch line, along with an adjacent 16-inch line, carries all of Rathdrum’s wastewater to the treatment plant in Post Falls. 

“To protect public health and the environment, the city has temporarily shut down all sewer lift stations,” said a public notice published Monday afternoon. “This means no wastewater is currently flowing from Rathdrum to Post Falls.” 

While repairs were underway, vacuum trucks were on site to keep lift stations from overflowing and community members were asked to limit water use by avoiding flushing toilets and using showers, dishwashers or laundry machines. 

By 9:30 p.m., the city said repairs were complete and normal water use could resume.

“As of now, the entire sewer system has been tested, pressure-checked, and is now fully operational,” a news release said. “We want to sincerely thank every resident and business for your extraordinary cooperation in limiting water use today. Your conservation efforts prevented further complications due to significant overflows and backups and made the repair process much smoother.”

If any damage occurred as a result of this event, property owners should document and take photos of the damage and contact the city of Rathdrum to fill out formal documentation.

“The contractor responsible has been notified and will be held fully accountable for all repair costs,” an afternoon news release said.