Published
What connecting to St. Anthony’s water and sewer actually involves — from the city’s own plan
Two systems, two very different futures
St. Anthony runs its own water and sewer. That much is ordinary. What the city’s 2023 comprehensive plan records about the two systems is not symmetric, and anyone building here should know which side of the asymmetry their project lands on:
| Water | Sewer | |
|---|---|---|
| What the city runs | Two municipal wells and the pipelines serving everyone inside city limits, plus a few homes and businesses in the impact area | A treatment facility west of the city on the north side of the Henry’s Fork, returning treated water to the river |
| Headroom | Operating “in tandem” while the system “approaches its capacity” — a study was underway | “Not operating at full capacity”, with growth room for the foreseeable future and land to expand onto |
| Who else it serves | City residents and a few impact-area connections | The City of Parker and the JCC St. Anthony juvenile corrections facility |
| The known constraint | New wells need permits and water rights the city describes as very difficult to obtain | Serving new areas more than about a quarter mile past the existing system’s perimeter needs a lift station |
The plan names the source of those operating details: Scott Butigan, the city’s Public Works Superintendent, whose estimates the comprehensive plan records directly. He is also the person the plan says to consult about connecting — more on that below.
The water side: a study, a third well, and a redundancy problem
The plan’s water picture is candid for an official document. The two wells “work in tandem to keep an adequate supply,” but the city was “undergoing a study to assess the adequacy of the water system for future needs as the water system approaches its capacity.” The details stack up:
- Permits and water rights for new wells are described as “very difficult for municipalities to obtain” — with the city having to demonstrate the need for additional capacity.
- The option on the table was a third well connecting to the existing northern water tank — less about capacity, more about redundancy in case one well fails.
- The plan records unmetered water loss between the supply side and end users, traced by comparing meter volumes, and ageing joints the city knows will need replacing.
- The study was expected to complete in 2023 — the same year as the plan itself. Ask the city for it, and for what it concluded, before you design a project whose water demand matters.
The sewer side: capacity, and the quarter-mile line
Sewer is the stronger system, and the plan says so with unusual specificity:
- The plant is not at full capacity and has “additional capacity for growth in the foreseeable future,” with the possibility of expanding onto adjacent land if needed.
- It already treats Parker’s wastewater and the juvenile corrections facility’s.
- The collection lines are in recent repair: the Public Works Superintendent estimated 85–90 percent of the sewer lines had been replaced over the preceding fifteen years.
The number to remember is the reach limit, in the plan’s own attribution:
“Mr. Butigan estimated that expansion of the area served by the sewer system in any direction over about one quarter of a mile from the existing system’s perimeter will require a lift station.”
— City of St. Anthony 2023 Comprehensive Plan, public services chapter, recording the estimate of Public Works Superintendent Scott Butigan. Retrieved 23 September 2026
A lift station is a pump installation that lifts sewage over flat terrain into the gravity system — and it is the moment a cheap connection becomes a priced one. If your ground sits more than roughly a quarter mile beyond the existing sewer perimeter, in any direction, budget for that conversation. The plan’s closing sentence on the subject is the one developers quote to each other: “Connection to the City’s systems should be at the developer’s expense.”
The 300-foot rule, and who it actually binds
The plan states the connection policy in one sentence, and its details matter more than the headline number:
“Generally new development within 300 feet of existing city sewer lines must connect unless an economic hardship or other geographic factors that make it infeasible can be demonstrated.”
— City of St. Anthony 2023 Comprehensive Plan, public services chapter. Retrieved 23 September 2026
Three things live inside that sentence:
- “Generally” — it is policy, applied case by case, not an automatic switch.
- “New development within 300 feet of sewer lines” — the distance is measured to existing city sewer, and it binds development, not every existing house.
- The escape clause — economic hardship or geographic infeasibility can excuse the connection, if you can demonstrate it.
Note also what the number is not: this is the utilities 300, a connection policy. The belt agreement has its own entirely different 300-foot rule about split parcels at the boundary line, covered on the Area of City Impact page — same number, different document, no relation.
Inside the belt: the plat does the connecting
In the Area of City Impact, the connection question is largely answered before any house exists, because the county-city agreement’s requirements ride onto every subdivision plat. The comprehensive plan’s utilities chapter quotes the operative language:
“All subdivision plat applications in the Impact Area shall require a street and utility easement plan, providing for such streets and utilities to connect into and become a part of the existing city system.”
— Area of City Impact agreement, as quoted in the City of St. Anthony 2023 Comprehensive Plan, public services chapter. Retrieved 23 September 2026
“A condition of approval for all subdivision plats in the Impact Area shall require that: 1) prior to occupancy of the subdivision’s first dwelling unit, sewer and water lines shall be installed to accommodate the future re-subdivision to urban densities; and 2) development agreements be in place.”
— Area of City Impact agreement, as quoted in the City of St. Anthony 2023 Comprehensive Plan, public services chapter. Retrieved 23 September 2026
In plain terms: a subdivision in the belt lays its sewer and water lines to city standards before its first house is occupied, sized so the ground can later be re-platted to urban densities. Approval still belongs to the county — but the city comments on infrastructure requirements during review, and for projects inside the city proper the Public Works Director must certify on the plat that the development complies with city standards. Individual new homes in the impact area are “looked at on a case by case basis to determine the feasibility of connection.”
If you are outside the lines today
The plan has a sentence for impact-area owners the city has not reached yet: they “should also consult with the Public Works Director to ensure that new development will be able to connect with City infrastructure when services become available.” That consultation is cheap now and expensive to retrofit — a house placed in the wrong corner of a parcel can make a future connection need an easement across a neighbour. The underlying decision — city hookup versus your own well and septic — is mapped on the water-and-sewer decision page.
What the city charges, and where the maps are
The plan records the fee machinery without printing a price list: a 2003 wastewater study and a 2006 water study “provide a basis to establish development fees for connections,” fees are “assessed on an annual basis,” and the water study update was expected in 2023. Two documents you can actually hold both live at the city office:
- The water and sewer line map — “a map of water and sewer lines is located at the city office.” Before you measure anything, look at this.
- The Public Works Superintendent — the plan twice routes specific line questions to this desk. The city office will reach it.
Before you count on a connection
- Get the parcel number, then get your hands on the water and sewer line map at the city office — the plan says it is there.
- Measure the distance from your boundary to the nearest city sewer line. Under 300 feet, expect the connection policy to apply to new development; over it, you are in feasibility territory.
- Judge the quarter mile. If your ground sits beyond roughly a quarter mile of the existing system’s perimeter, ask the lift-station question before you design anything.
- Ask for the water system study the 2023 plan expected — and what it concluded about capacity and the third well.
- Buying in a belt subdivision? The plat already carries the connection conditions — read them before the driveway, not after.
- Building outside the reached area? Consult the Public Works Director about where the lines will go, so your house does not block its own future connection.
- Then call (208) 656-1745 and pressure-test the answers before you spend on drawings.
Common questions
Does St. Anthony have enough water capacity for new homes?
The city's 2023 comprehensive plan describes two wells working in tandem while the system 'approaches its capacity,' with an adequacy study underway and a third well - tied to the existing northern tank - under consideration mainly for redundancy. Ask the city for the completed study before assuming headroom.
Does St. Anthony have sewer capacity for new connections?
Yes, by the plan's own account: the treatment plant west of the city on the north side of the Henry's Fork is 'not operating at full capacity,' has growth room for the foreseeable future, and could expand onto adjacent land. It already treats wastewater from Parker and the juvenile corrections facility.
What is the 300-foot sewer rule in St. Anthony?
The comprehensive plan's utilities policy: 'Generally new development within 300 feet of existing city sewer lines must connect unless an economic hardship or other geographic factors that make it infeasible can be demonstrated.' It is policy applied to new development, not an automatic rule for existing houses - and it is separate from the Area of City Impact agreement's 300-foot split-parcel rule.
Who pays to connect to St. Anthony water and sewer?
The developer. The comprehensive plan states it flatly: 'Connection to the City's systems should be at the developer's expense.' Connection fees are set annually, based on the city's 2003 wastewater and 2006 water studies.
How far can the city sewer system expand before it needs a lift station?
About a quarter mile. The plan records the Public Works Superintendent's estimate that expanding the served area in any direction more than about one quarter mile beyond the existing system's perimeter will require a lift station - a pump installation that changes the cost of serving your ground.
Do impact-area subdivisions have to connect to city utilities?
Their plats do. Under the Area of City Impact agreement, belt plats must carry a street and utility easement plan connecting into the city system, and sewer and water lines sized for urban-density re-subdivision must be installed before the subdivision's first dwelling unit is occupied.
Can an impact-area homeowner be forced to connect to city utilities?
The plan treats individual impact-area homes case by case for connection feasibility, and advises impact-area owners to consult the Public Works Director so development can connect when services become available. State annexation law separately protects nonconsenting owners from being forced onto city water and sewer.
Where can I see the city's water and sewer lines?
At the city office. The comprehensive plan states 'a map of water and sewer lines is located at the city office,' and routes specific questions to the Public Works Superintendent.
How old are St. Anthony's sewer lines?
Largely new. The Public Works Superintendent estimated in the 2023 plan that 85 to 90 percent of the sewer lines had been replaced over the preceding fifteen years.