20240814News Release.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission Brad tittle,Governor
P.O. Box 83720. Boise, ID 83720.0074 Eric Anderson, President
\� Joln R.Hammond, Jr, Commissioner
Edward Lodge,Commissioner
Case No. SWI-W-24-01
Order No. 36290
Contact: Adam Rush
Office: [phone]
E-mail: adam.rushkpuc.idaho.gov
NEWS RELEASE: Commission will regulate northern Idaho water utility after approving its
application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
BOISE (Aug. 14, 2024)—The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will regulate a northern Idaho
water utility after approving an application from the utility asking for a certificate of public
convenience and necessity.
Syringa Water Inc. serves 78 customers along the northern part of Lake Coeur d'Alene in
Kootenai County. Its customers are currently charged volumetric rates.
Commission staff who reviewed Syringa Water's application believed the utility was operating
as a public utility, and should be issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The
utility is organized as an Idaho corporation and serves customers who do not control Syringa
Water's operations or own the water system. Staff also noted the utility is not operating to
provide water service to customers at cost, and therefore believed the utility is operating the
water system for compensation.
As part of the commission's granting the certificate, Syringa Water will be required to address
certain operational deficiencies. The utility had yet to replace a flow meter on a filter bay of the
water system that was identified as malfunctioning in a 2019 Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality sanitary survey. Syringa said it has purchased a new flow meter and will
replace the malfunctioning one after the high-demand season ends in November of 2024.
Commission staff noted that insufficient transfer pump capacity and insufficient fire flow storage
threaten the current and future reliability of the utility's system. The system has a single transfer
pump that if fails, customers may not receive water. The utility also needs a water storage
capacity of 173,925 gallons to meet both its maximum daily demand and fire flow as required by
Idaho code. Currently, Syringa Water has 100,000 gallons of available capacity, a deficiency of
73,925 gallons. According to the Kootenai County 2018 Fire Code, the utility needs 180,000
gallons of storage capacity or 1,500 gallons per minute at 20 pounds per square inch of system
pressure.

In addition to addressing the items above, Syringa Water was directed by the commission to
provide a tariff, a billing statement, an initial disconnection notice, a final disconnection notice, a
notice of procedure for reconnection, a summary of rules and other information. Commission
staff was directed to open a separate docket to evaluate whether the rates contained in the tariff
Syringa Water subsequently provides are fair,just, and reasonable.
Additional information is available at: puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7294.