{"id":682370,"date":"2026-06-03T19:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682370\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:05:14","slug":"city-indefinitely-pauses-first-recycled-water-facility-in-southeast-boise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/682370\/","title":{"rendered":"City indefinitely pauses first recycled water facility in southeast Boise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boise has halted construction of its planned recycled water treatment facility in southeast Boise, citing sharply rising construction and labor costs.<\/p>\n

BOISE, Idaho \u2014 Boise has halted progress on a major water project designed to combat drought and growth, citing affordability concerns.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, June 2, the City of Boise said it is indefinitely pausing construction of its planned cutting-edge water treatment facility<\/a> in its industrial zone in southeast Boise. The facility would recycle wastewater rather than send it downstream.<\/p>\n

The city said construction and labor costs have risen sharply locally and nationally, increasing the estimated costs. Leaders decided to halt progress to control budgets and keep utility rates affordable for residents.<\/p>\n

“Pausing this recycled water project is disappointing for our team and our community, who continue to show their support for protecting our local water resources,” said Boise Public Works Director Steve Burgos in a news release. “We’re focused on keeping our rates affordable while continuing to invest in keeping our city and the Boise River clean, safe and healthy.”<\/p>\n

As previously reported<\/a>, the proposed facility, planned for a 76-acre site in southeast Boise near the WinCo Distribution Center, was intended to treat up to 6 million gallons of industrial wastewater per day. The water would have been reused by businesses or injected back into the city\u2019s aquifer, which supplies about 70% of Boise\u2019s drinking water.<\/p>\n

The project was part of a 2021 utility plan approved by city leaders and supported by voters through a $570 million bond to upgrade water infrastructure. Construction had been expected to begin in 2027, with operations starting in the early 2030s, but the project had not yet broken ground.<\/p>\n

Boise in late 2025 reported it treats roughly 30 million gallons of wastewater daily at its existing facilities, discharging the treated water into the Boise River. The recycling project was designed to keep more water local as the Treasure Valley faces increasing pressure from drought, climate change and rapid population growth.<\/p>\n

Officials said recycled water remains part of the city\u2019s long-term strategy to strengthen water resilience. The city, in its June 2 news release, said it is reviewing alternative approaches to achieve those goals while maintaining reliable and affordable service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boise has halted construction of its planned recycled water treatment facility in southeast Boise, citing sharply rising construction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-682370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}