Lewiston council warned of urgent wastewater phosphorus limit; engineers to re-evaluate options
January 20, 2026 | Lewiston, Cache County, Utah
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Presiding officer (Unidentified Speaker 1) told the Lewiston City Council that recent meetings with multiple state and federal agencies left officials worried about compliance for the city’s wastewater discharge, saying, "they told us we're screwed." Council members said regulators set a hard cap on allowed phosphorus at 0.05 (units discussed in the meeting) while recent readings reported by staff were around 2.5.
The council said the funding the city secured for an additional lagoon would not, under the new limit, solve the compliance problem. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the city had been circulated among three to four agencies in meetings that included the Division of Water Quality, permit writers, the state engineer, JUB consultants and EPA representatives.
City staff and council members described the problem as technical and potentially expensive. Unidentified Speaker 2 said the city is exploring "total containment and land application for a combination thereof" and scheduled a follow-up meeting with more engineers to determine feasible solutions. No formal vote or ordinance change occurred at the meeting; council members described the next step as pursuing additional engineering options as soon as possible.
Council members referenced comparative numbers in the conversation: Unidentified Speaker 2 noted Richmond’s system was described in the meeting as discharging phosphorus at 8.5 milligrams per liter, while local readings were said to be roughly 2.5; the council emphasized that the newly applied regulatory cap of 0.05 is much lower than those operational figures. Council members and staff also discussed permitting distinctions (pollutant-based permitting and roles for the health department on some local projects).
The council’s next action is procedural: staff will meet with engineers Thursday to explore containment and land-application schemes and report back; no regulatory relief or funding change was announced at the meeting.
The council said the funding the city secured for an additional lagoon would not, under the new limit, solve the compliance problem. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the city had been circulated among three to four agencies in meetings that included the Division of Water Quality, permit writers, the state engineer, JUB consultants and EPA representatives.
City staff and council members described the problem as technical and potentially expensive. Unidentified Speaker 2 said the city is exploring "total containment and land application for a combination thereof" and scheduled a follow-up meeting with more engineers to determine feasible solutions. No formal vote or ordinance change occurred at the meeting; council members described the next step as pursuing additional engineering options as soon as possible.
Council members referenced comparative numbers in the conversation: Unidentified Speaker 2 noted Richmond’s system was described in the meeting as discharging phosphorus at 8.5 milligrams per liter, while local readings were said to be roughly 2.5; the council emphasized that the newly applied regulatory cap of 0.05 is much lower than those operational figures. Council members and staff also discussed permitting distinctions (pollutant-based permitting and roles for the health department on some local projects).
The council’s next action is procedural: staff will meet with engineers Thursday to explore containment and land-application schemes and report back; no regulatory relief or funding change was announced at the meeting.
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