Idaho receives $38 million for critical water upgrades
On April 12, 2026, Idaho’s director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that several rural areas of Idaho will be a part of a $38 million grant for critical water and wastewater upgrades. Stephani Blackburn, the chair of the Cedar Springs Community Water Board, a nonprofit organization that serves parts of Bonner County around Sagle, reported that residents in rural Idaho did not have safe and reliable clean water, making it difficult to complete basic tasks such as washing the dishes and flushing the toilet.
“We’re very grateful for the opportunity to work with these agencies to help get our system back in a place of growth, basically supplying reliable and quality water,” said Blackburn. “It feels like something everyone in this country has, you don’t hear much about, the needs of small communities, to be supplying drinking water to folks. But I think every single one of them understands the importance of this storage tank project.”
