General Info

The Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District has several miles of pipe under the ground to provide patrons with clean drinking water and low cost irrigation water.  From time to time those pipes break and you will see our staff repairing or replacing mains.  Our staff works hard to make the inconvenience to you as little as possible.  Click here to view a boundary map.

General Locate Information
Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District premarks locates with white spray paint.

Note:  Water lines on private property are not marked as they are considered private lines and are not installed by the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District.

Any time there is an excavation in which the earth is moved or removed by means of any tool the customer, contractor, developer, or utility is required by law to notify Digline.  If you are planning a project call Digline at 811 before you dig. For more information regarding Digline visit their web site at www.digline.com.

All utilities mark their facilities in accordance with the American Public Works Association Uniform Color codes listed below:

White: Proposed Excavation

Pink: Survey Marks

Red: Electric

Yellow: Gas, Oil or Fuel

Orange: Cable or Phone

Blue: Potable Water

Purple: Reclaimed Water

Green: Sewer

 

BULK WATER SALES

From time to time various customers, primarily contractors, have asked to purchase bulk water for project work from the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District. 

* Customers requiring bulk water sales must come to the LOID office at 1520 Powers Avenue to obtain the water.  A bulk water hydrant has been installed in the LOID yard.  This enables staff to have control over opening and closing of the hydrant eliminating possible operational issues.


If you have any questions regarding bulk water sales please contact the office at 208-746-8235.

* The LOID Board has adopted a resolution for fire hydrant meter construction permits for developers.  Click here to review the policy.  Click below to view the additional forms needed:

Fire Hydrant Construction Access Permit

Water Truck Inspection Form

FIRE HYDRANTS

Fire hydrant flushing is done to remove rust and sediment from water lines and to perform testing of fire hydrants for public safety. The flushing operation may result in brief periods of reduced water pressure or discolored water. Iron and manganese, two minerals in water that have settled into the water mains cause the discolored water. The water is only discolored. It is safe.

We will be flushing water mains between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. throughout the year. Be aware that this procedure may cause some disturbances and discoloration in the water system. Customers in low-pressure areas may experience a temporary drop in pressure during flushing.

If you experience discoloration and rust particles in your water:

Locate the farthest and lowest cold water faucet in your home from the water meter.

Remove the aerator if there is one and turn on the cold water faucet until the water runs clear.

If the water is still discolored after running the cold water for 10 minutes, please turn off the faucet and check it again one hour later.

Please refrain from washing white or light colored clothes.

When the flushing operation is complete, normal water pressure and clear water should return.

 

METER TAMPERING

Meter box, service can, the box with pipes and valves in it… Call it what you want, but please don’t touch.

The Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District is responsible for the pipes in the street and each domestic/irrigation service can.  If you find yourself needing your water, irrigation or domestic, turned off or on, please contact the LOID office.  The District will respond at any time of day to turn on or off the water service request as a LOID crew member is on call at all times.

Often times we receive calls because a patron attempts to turn on or off the water themselves and something breaks.  LOID prefers to turn on and off the water service for our patrons.  It gives us a chance to inspect the water service and make any necessary repairs at that time.

The water service may be discontinued for nonpayment on domestic and irrigation accounts.  If you suddenly find yourself without water, please call the District office for further assistance.  LOID checks the water services that have been turned off for nonpayment and if the water is turned back on before payment has been received the District will lock the service or completely remove the meter until the account is paid in full. Your account will also be charged a $100 fee for “meter tampering.”

The LOID office phone number is (208) 746-8235.

 

CONSTRUCTION AFFECTING CUSTOMERS

From time to time you will see LOID crews working in your neighborhood. Your street may be temporarily closed as crews are working. It is all part of our commitment to provide safe, high quality drinking water, and inexpensive irrigation water to our patrons. Please bear with us during street closures and construction.

What to Expect During Construction:
The pipeline installation work will cause some dust and equipment noise that is temporary, but unavoidable.

Driveways will be inaccessible while the trench is open, but will be restored to a usable condition before the crews leave for the day.

Final repairs to paved surfaces will not take place until all underground work is completed, including the “cross-overs” or connections between the property meter box and the new mainlines, and the shutdown work required to abandon the old lines.

The connection from the main pipeline to the meter box, which is located on or near the property, may alter landscaping. Crews will need to expose and replace the buried service lines to your meter box.

The water service may be interrupted without notice if a water line or distribution part breaks during construction.

Our crews will be delivering pipe to the job site and laying it on the ground along the length of the project before the trench is excavated.

Who to Contact:

Should you need further information, please contact the District Office at (208) 746-8235.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

 

FLUSHING LINES

Flushing Domestic Lines and Fire Hydrants:

For public safety reasons, it is necessary to “flow test” all the fire hydrants from time to time.  When these tests are being conducted, the water in the main lines may change direction of flow, and will certainly be moving through the pipes at higher than normal velocities.  This may stir up the sediments in the pipes and cause some cloudiness in the water.

There may be some discoloration in your domestic water.  The light tan color that may be present in the domestic water system following the testing is called “floc”, which is inert, and not a health hazard.  The microscopic particles that passed through the Filter Plant years ago remain in the bottom of some of the pipes in the system.  To remove this floc, we suggest turning on a cold water faucet at the lowest point in your home to flush the water system for approximately 5-10 minutes to “clear the lines” to your residence or place of business.  If that does not clear your lines, please wait between 30-60 minutes and repeat flushing your lines.

To minimize the impact on the system, the LOID is conducting these tests at night.  This will allow the system time to settle the sediment before higher usage rates that occur each morning.  Washing laundry is discouraged when the water is discolored.  The floc particles are so small that they may become embedded in the fibers of the material.

 

PIPE REPLACEMENT

LOID has an aggressive pipe replacement program.  In 2014, our crews replaced 8,054 feet of pipe.  LOID replaces pipe for several reasons, including repair, avoid main breaks, replace old corroded pipe, alleviate water pressure issues, and to improve overall water delivery.

Each project is different due to conditions at the project site.  If our crews are working in your neighborhood, you should receive notice describing the work being done.  If you have any additional questions or concerns please contact the office at (208) 746-8235.  We know construction usually means inconvenience and our crew attempts to complete projects as quickly as possible.

If your street had to be cut to access pipes, LOID attempts to fill the street in with gravel and will patch the street. For large jobs the paving is scheduled after the entire job is complete or, the LOID will combine projects throughout the District into one paving job.

 

NEW WELL

In an effort to stay litigation, the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District (LOID) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nez Perce Tribe in July 2009.  Other signers included Nez Perce County, the City of Lewiston and the Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce.  The project is known as the Lower Clearwater Exchange Project (LCEP).  The LCEP group’s objective is to explore and pursue the potential of constructing an alternate water supply replacing the surface water system currently used by LOID for the delivery of irrigation water.  The alternate system must provide a safe and reliable quantity of irrigation water to landowners within the District and provide permanent resolution of the Endangered Species Act and Federal/Tribal Trust issues surrounding the system.

In August 2013, the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation to complete design and construction for a pilot groundwater well project to investigate the practicality of a well field as an alternative water supply.  The pilot well will be drilled to provide water in exchange for a proportional amount of the LOID irrigation water currently supplied through the surface water system which has its source on Craig Mountain.  The objective of the new well is to partially resolve impacts to endangered steelhead and their habitat caused by surface withdrawals of irrigation water.

In an effort to provide a more reliable source of irrigation water for landowners in the Lewiston Orchards, the LOID purchased land off of 10th Street and Powers Avenue.  With financial assistance from the BOR, the site will be home to a new deep water well.  Drilling is slated to begin in early October 2014.  LOID is prepared to drill up to 1,900 linear feet deep in order to obtain the target production yield of 2,000 gallons per minute.  Drilling could continue through Spring 2015.  If the well is productive, a gallon for gallon exchange will be made with surface water from the Craig Mountain watershed going to the fish and well water going to the irrigation system.  Contingent on the success of this pilot well, the BOR has committed to funding additional wells to replace the entire groundwater system from the Craig Mountain watershed.