An aerial view of the wastewater treatment plant in Driggs, Idaho. (Courtesy of the city of Driggs)
More than half of Idaho’s wastewater treatment plants violated Clean Water Act pollution discharge limits at least once last year, while some plants routinely violated limits for years, according to a new report by the Idaho Conservation League.
The report, “ The seventh annual Idaho Wastewater Treatment Plant Report : Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants in Idaho Failing to Meet Clean Water Act Standards,” found 458 violations in Idaho sewer treatment plants in 2023.
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Eleven of the state’s 123 wastewater treatment plants were responsible for most of the violations, about 63%, according to the report. The report also said only a small number of violations result in penalties.
“We need to be holding more of these polluters accountable,” the Idaho Conservation League wrote in the report. “If not, we risk poor water quality, detrimental impacts to aquatic life and human health concerns.”