White Bird gets disaster declaration from county to help with water crisis

GRANGEVILLE - Idaho County commissioners approved a disaster declaration Tuesday to help the city of White Bird seek financial assistance for the loss of its two water wells.

White Bird Mayor Homer Brown and City Clerk Sandra L. Murphy met with the commissioners and said investigators still have not determined what caused the wells to stop functioning Nov. 24.

"It may never be possible to determine what caused the loss," the duo said in a prepared statement, "but we do know that seismic activity was documented in the area Nov. 24 through the 30th. This might have been the contributing factor to loss of water."

Brown also said the increased water demand over the Thanksgiving holiday may have triggered the well failure, which could have been deteriorating unnoticed for some time.

After citizens reported their loss of water, the city issued a boil-water advisory Nov. 27, and two days later the city council declared a state of emergency.

Since then, several retail businesses in the region have donated potable water, and the city is providing portable toilets, bottled water, bulk potable water and non-potable water to citizens.

But the cost is not cheap.

Brown and Murphy said so far it has cost the city more than $2,900 per day for water and immediate supplies, not including labor.

"The city will not be able to keep up with expected expenditures during this crisis," they said. "Our immediate goal is to provide potable water to our residents as well as flushing water."

The city has applied for emergency money from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development agency has committed to helping with the cost of repairs through emergency community water assistance grants.

The commissioners' declaration Tuesday will allow the city to apply for funds from the Idaho Office of Emergency Management to help support the immediate needs of the community.

Brown said the city is working with private and government agencies, along with volunteers, to help find a solution to the problem.

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Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.