POST FALLS — A rehabilitation project for Well House 4 within the Post Falls water system has hit a major snag after coliforms and E.coli were found during testing after the completion of the project. 

The well has been isolated from the city’s water system to avoid contamination, but since the initial report was made in March, several chlorination efforts to decontaminate the well by contractor WM Welch have been unsuccessful. 

During the Post Falls City Council meeting on Tuesday, Projects Division Manager Andrew Arbini asked council members for up to $67,000 to get the well decontaminated and see if a responsible party could be determined.   

“We cannot bring the well into service,” Arbini said.  

In December 2024, council members awarded the construction contract to WM Welch for rehabilitation of the Well House 4 facility and construction began in March 2025.  

The rehabilitation of Well House 4 was initially estimated to cost $532,000 and the additional funds are close to that initial estimate. 

Arbini said after the conclusion of the project, there is a chance to determine a cause for the contamination and whether there is a responsible party or if the findings point to an external source of contamination.  

Public Works Director John Beacham said retaining J-U-B Engineers as technical advisers will help with assessment of the issues until the contamination is resolved. 

City Councilor Samantha Steigleder asked whether more money was needed to move things forward. 

“Can we have the specs followed and then see if the water’s clean and it’s not clean still, then we can do this?” Steigleder asked. 

Because the J-U-B contract will run out soon, city staff will otherwise have to try and understand the situation without advice from technical support at J-U-B.

“They went through the entire report of what the contractor said they did. They (J-U-B) noted deficiencies, so the spec is not 100% met,” Beacham said. 

City attorney Field Herrington said here is currently a dispute between J-U-B and WM Welch over whether or not the specs were followed.  

Steigleder said the situation leaves the city open to future projects asking for more money even though the original specs may not have been followed.

“I think the logical answer is to follow the specs and then it can be clear and we can move on and the request for money makes sense,” Steigleder said. “Seemingly, we must spend all of the money and get to the end and then try to, in someone’s terms, claw back some of it, which seems crazy.” 

Mayor Randy Westlund said similar issues frequently come before council when there are unexpected developments in construction and additional fees are needed. 

"Regardless of how this goes, we had a contract with J-U-B for a certain amount of services and now we’re kind of running over that time,” Westlund said.  

City Councilor Jack Mosby said no parties have admitted to responsibility. He said the city will have to complete the project and investigate if there is any determining factor at the conclusion. 

Steigleder said the problem comes down to communication. 

“I don’t appreciate the assertion that I’m making a big deal out of nothing or continuing to talk about something, but it matters,” Steigleder said. “In the way it’s presented to us, it made it like it’s not the taxpayers' responsibility to pay these.” 

Mosby said staff reports indicate that the city has retained its rights to pursue responsibility for the setback if it can be clearly determined throughout the decontamination processes. 

The motion to add $67,000 to the project budget passed unanimously with council members Steigleder, Aaron Plew, Joe Malloy and Mosby in attendance. Nathan Ziegler and Marc Lucca were excused from the meeting.