Rathdrum’s City Council on Wednesday night postponed a vote on an emergency building moratorium due to concerns about water system pressure.

“Summer demand is pushing supply limitations, tank storage is struggling during these peak hour demands, current pump operating sequences are contributing to isolated pressure fluctuations and additional storage and supply infrastructure is needed to address this problem,” Council Member Laura Fuller said citing J-U-B Engineers’ preliminary report. “I believe the peril is imminent because these conditions are occurring now and are most pronounced during predictable periods of peak demand.”

At the heart of the issue is Idaho Code § 67-6523, which allows governing boards to adopt ordinances and moratoriums in the event there is “imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare.” 

What was not easily agreed upon was whether there is imminent peril or not. About 35 people attended. Public comments were pro and con regarding the moratorium that would have meant no new building in the city of about 13,000 people until the water situation was resolved.

The council considered adoption of findings of imminent peril related to water system pressure concerns, but after about two and a half hours of testimony, opted to wait until at least September when J-U-B’s full report on the water system is finished.

The period of low water pressure generally coincided with summer months and times in the early morning and evening when people tend to water their lawns. 

According to the evidence presented, there wasn’t a connection between poor water pressure and the development of new homes and buildings in Rathdrum. 

Councilor Larry Sanders agreed with the current findings against a moratorium.

“We have to claim imminent peril to our city to do a moratorium … our charts that we saw today and everything we've seen, those are not continuous (issues),” Sanders said. “Continuous isn’t three hours. Continuous isn't 25 minutes. After we get our water study and our hydraulic figures come out and (the results say) we have to fix it, then I'll be the first one to vote for a moratorium if I think there's a problem.”

The North Idaho Building Contractors Association previously stated it opposed a moratorium on building, arguing the water pressure and city growth issues are not an emergency.

“Isolated water pressure issues or generalized rapid growth anxieties do not meet this strict legal definition,” NIBCA President Jessica Cargile said in a letter addressed to the Rathdrum City Council and City Planning Department. “The city has not produced city-wide engineering data proving the municipal water system is facing systemic collapse.”

The topic of potential legal troubles and the cost associated with it should the validity of a moratorium come into question were also discussed. 

“We aren't even close to having enough documentation to do it,” Sanders said. “A judge is going to decide that, and I think a good attorney can tear that apart. We don't have enough facts and information to say a definitive ‘yes, we need a moratorium.’”

Still, there is no solution to fixing water pressure issues in Rathdrum, which sparked concern from Mayor John Hodgkins when discussing what technically determines a continuous drop in water pressure.

“Is an emergency going to wait for water pressure to come back, for all the stars to align for what could be a catastrophic fire?” Hodgkins asked.