CALDWELL, Idaho — As Caldwell continues to add new homes and businesses, city leaders say the biggest concern is not whether there is enough water underground, but whether the city's infrastructure can keep pace with future demand.
The discussion follows recent updates to the city's water modeling, which identified several pressure zones operating below desired capacity levels. According to Mayor Eric Phillips, Caldwell has not drilled a new municipal well in approximately 15 years, creating challenges as the city continues to grow.
The issue comes as Caldwell continues to experience significant development. Phillips said there are between 10,000 and 11,000 homes and apartment units currently approved, proposed, or in various stages of the development process.
"If we've said we're going to provide a service to them, we should be able to do that," Phillips said.
WATCH | Caldwell officials say water infrastructure, not supply, is a growing challenge
Groundwater Data Shows No Alarming Declines
To better understand local water conditions, Idaho News 6 spoke with Amy Steimke, a hydrologist with the Idaho Department of Water Resources who studies groundwater trends throughout the Treasure Valley.
Steimke said historical groundwater data does not show significant declines in the Caldwell area.
"We looked at time periods from 1980 to 2000 and 2000 to 2025, and we did not see any alarming trends showing decreases in the Caldwell area," she said.
Monitoring well data from around Caldwell similarly shows groundwater levels have remained relatively stable in many locations over time.
That distinction is important, according to city leaders.
While discussions surrounding water can sometimes raise concerns about supply, officials say the primary challenge is ensuring the city's wells, pumps, and delivery systems are capable of serving a rapidly growing population.
Why the Mayor Spoke Out
Phillips recently addressed the issue in a lengthy Facebook post, prompting questions from residents about the future of Caldwell's water system.
When asked why he felt it was important to publicly discuss the issue, Phillips said transparency was a major factor.
"Transparency is very important to me," Phillips said.
He is also frustrated by the issue, and thinks Caldwell neighbors to deserve to know whats going on.
"we're jumping forward so fast, but we're not making sure that we're taking care of the current," he said.
Phillips emphasized that his concern is not a lack of groundwater beneath the city, but rather the need to invest in the infrastructure necessary to deliver that water as Caldwell continues to expand.
If a well were to go down, or as an example, the fire department were to try to pull water from fire hydrants, that has the potential to produce incredible strain and dump the system.
Looking Ahead
The mayor said two new municipal well projects are already in development, with planning and preparation underway for their eventual installation.
There are many paths forward, but unfortunately are and expensive and a years-long process. The Mayor says the city is trying to catch up, as developers now incur certain, recently raised, fees to connect to water, sewer and contribute to roads.
"What we should have done was grown reasonably and proportionally over time because we just left all this money on the table for growth," he said.
The ongoing challenge will be ensuring the infrastructure needed to deliver that water keeps pace with one of Idaho's fastest-growing communities.
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