Our History

It started with dams. In 1951, the Washington Water Power Company, now Avista Utilities began construction of the Cabinet Gorge Dam on the Clark Fork River.  The same year, the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of the Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River.  Before those dams were built, Bottle Bay on Lake Pend Oreille was subject to periodic flooding in the spring, and useless mud flats by late summer.  The prospect of a stable pool made the lowlands around Bottle Bay attractive for waterfront cabins with fixed docks. So, in the decade of the 50s, 60s and 70s, the land around the bay was plated into small lots.  People snapped up the lots and, for the first time, cabins sprung up all around the bay.

Drainfields and weeds.  Before the 1970s, there was virtually no regulation of wastewater into the bay.  Sewage from the multitude of cabins, mobile homes and trailers found its way into the bay through old or poorly designed drainfields. The wastewater, rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, acted like a fertilizer, stimulating algae and killing fish in the bay.  By mid-summer Bottle Bay was always a mess.  Residents hauled off lakeweed by the pick-up load.

Wastewater regulation and money.   In 1970, environmental regulation became a thing.  It started with the 1970 National Environmental Protection Act, followed in 1972 by the federal Clean Water Act and the Idaho Environmental Protection and Health Act.  Our regional Panhandle Health District was created and authorized to regulate wastewater discharge into the lake.  Alongside the regulations, there was unprecedented federal funding. Qualifying sewer districts could obtain a 75% match from the federal government for the construction of wastewater collection and treatment systems.

Local folks step-up.  With free money available, J. Edward Gage and a few full-time residents decided it was time to get control over the wastewater discharge into Bottle Bay. In the fall of 1971, they petitioned the District Court and obtained an order establishing the Bottle Bay Sewer District.  Their goal: build a wastewater collection and treatment system around the entire bay.

A three-phase build-out.  It wasn’t easy to put together the local match.  After engineering studies were completed, and a facilities plan adopted, the Board set a bond election for April, 1976, asking voters for $161,000.  It went down to defeat! It was a disappointment, but the Board persisted.  It reduced the request to $121,000 and that August the bond measure passed. In November, bids went out, and by 1978, the District was in full operation.  But only for half the bay.  It took until 1995, and the adoption by the sewer board of two local improvement districts (LIDs) to complete the founders’ vision to connect the entire bay. Then in 2020, the district borrowed $1.7 million from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to upgrade and expand its treatment plant located above Bottle Bay Road.  This is known as the Wastewater Expansion Project (WEP). The WEP allows the District to service a total of 304 connections.  Slightly less than 200 parcels are presently connected.

Our Administrative Structure

The Taxing District.  The taxing district encompasses parcels of land in portions of seven sections in Townships 56N and 57N in Bonner County. Every parcel pays a small ad valorem tax.

Capitalized Parcels.  Most parcels within the taxing district have paid a capitalization fee through the 1995 Local Improvement District (LID).  These parcels are required to discharge wastewater through the District’s sewer system and are eligible for connection without additional cost (except inspection fees).  The owners of those parcels, whether connected or not, pay a quarterly Basic Fee and a $60 quarterly fee to repay the loan for the Wastewater Expansion Project.

Serviced Parcels.  About two-thirds of the roughly 304 capitalized parcels are presently connected to the sewer system.  Owners of connected parcels pay a quarterly Service Fee.  Additional fees are charged for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and homes with more than four bedrooms.

The Board and Board Meetings. The District is a political subdivision of the state of Idaho.  It has a five-member Board of Directors, each director is elected for a six-year term by voters who reside in the District.  A director must live in the district or own real property in the district and vote in Idaho.  One or two directors are elected in March of odd-numbered years.  The board is required to meet monthly. Directors are entitled to compensation of up to $150 per meeting, but the Board has traditionally chosen to forego payment. The meetings are conducted by Zoom and are open to the public.  The Zoom link can be found on this website [hyperlink].

Accounting.  Member fees and contractor payments are managed by Susan Shea of Platte & Associates LLP.  The best means of contacting Susan is via email: susan@plattecpa.com. Leave a number and Susan will call you back.

Operations & Maintenance

District Responsibility. The District is responsible for the maintenance and replacement of an existing residential septic system including the septic tank, septic pump and lateral line.  

Who to call for service.  The physical operation of the sewer system is managed by a contractor, presently Water System Mgt, Inc. (WSM). WSM has employees who manage the treatment facilities and provide a licensed operator, Brent Binnall, to oversee the collection system.  If you require service call WSM at 208-265-4270, leave a message and Brent will get back to you.

Homeowner Responsibility.  The homeowner is responsible for the initial installation of the septic system including the septic tank, septic pump, pump control unit, lateral line and connection to the mainline.  Initial construction and modifications to the residential system require a sewer permit.  Modifications of an existing dwelling may require a sewer permit as well.  The District will not sign-off on a county Building Location Permit without seeing construction plans.  This website contains our Residential System Requirements [hyperlink], Operating Rules [hyperlink], and Sewer Permit Application [hyperlink].  Our Compliance Officer, Rob Behrens, can answer questions about the application process.  His number is 406-360-0666.

How the System Works

Collection System.  We operate a Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) system.  Each lot or parcel has a septic tank.  Household waste flows by gravity from the dwelling to the septic tank.  The tank has a sewer pump.  When the level in the tank rises to a pre-set level, the pump activates and the effluent is pumped through a lateral line from the tank to our mainline.  We have several pressurized mainlines located throughout the district that funnel the effluent to a main lift station located near our maintenance building on Bottle Bay Road, just east of the intersection with East Bottle Bay Road.  From there, the effluent is pumped uphill to our sewer lagoons.

Treatment System.  The effluent from our collection system is pumped to a lagoon where it is treated by natural processes, such as sunlight, wind, aerobic bacteria and algae, that break down the pollutants. In a second lagoon, the wastewater is chemically treated and then sprayed out into our surrounding forest land through an extensive sprinkler irrigation system.  This occurs in the warmer months of the year.  DEQ requires all sorts of monitoring of this process, including test wells in the irrigation zone to ensure that levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and bacteria, do not exceed regulated maximum amounts.