WASHINGTON – Two years after his town lost funding to upgrade its aging water infrastructure, the mayor of Chewelah flew more than 2,000 miles to the nation's capital to ask members of Congress for another shot.
The town of about 2,800 in Stevens County was slated to receive $800,000 at the end of 2024 through a government funding package negotiated by Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat who then led the Senate Appropriations Committee. But billionaire Elon Musk, who was then an influential adviser to incoming President Donald Trump, sank the bill – and the money for Chewelah along with it – by demanding that Republicans oppose the legislation.
"We got on the bill, but the bill didn't get funded, ultimately, with the change in administration," Mayor Lindsay Baxter, who took office in December, said in an interview Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. "So we're here back again with basically the same request. It's super important to our community, given the quality-of-water issues that we've had from the manganese, and the lack of capacity for water for our city to grow."
Public Works Director Mike Frizzell, who joined Baxter on the three-day trip, said decades of deferred maintenance have left much of Chewelah’s water distribution system with significant buildup of manganese – a mineral that has been linked to health problems and turns the water brown – as well as iron from the rusting of old pipes.
Baxter said he and Frizzell met with Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to request $953,000 through the congressional earmark process, which would be used for water main replacements, part of a plan to upgrade the town's water infrastructure that has been in the works for 18 years. The two men also met at the Capitol with an aide to Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Spokane Republican who visited Chewelah two weeks earlier.
“The necessity of this grant money is to deliver clean water,” Baxter said.
Separately, the City of Chewelah has secured an $8.9 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to drill a new well, create a new reservoir and replace other sections of pipe. Baxter said the $953,000 in federal funds would be enough to replace about a third of the dilapidated water main, and he hopes to secure additional funding to finish the project.
Under the earmark process Congress revived in 2021 with new transparency measures, members of the House and Senate can request funding for specific projects identified by their constituents. Spokespeople for Baumgartner, Cantwell and Murray all indicated that the lawmakers support Chewelah's proposal, but House and Senate members haven't yet identified the projects they will prioritize for the fiscal year that begins in October.
Even though the town flushes out their water lines frequently, Baxter said, Chewelah residents occasionally turn on their taps to see brown water.
He added that decades of sediment buildup in the town’s 10-inch water mains have reduced their capacity by as much as half.
“That affects water flow, water pressure and certainly affects water quality,” Baxter said.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, manganese is a natural mineral often found in groundwater. When it mixes with chlorine in treated water, the two bond together and settle in pipes, causing brown water.
While small amounts are normal, a 2023 report from the state agency warns higher levels can harm infants. Elevated manganese in drinking water has been linked to learning and behavioral issues, and even short-term exposure around 0.1 mg/L during early childhood may increase the risk of a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Patty Murray, Grace Hagerty, said supporting local water infrastructure needs remains a priority for the Washington Democrat and her office is in communication with the city of Chewelah to discuss priorities for the 2027 fiscal year.
Sen. Maria Cantwell sent a statement Wednesday afternoon, also stating her office has been in communication with Baxter and met with him during his trip.
"This project would ensure that the residents of Chewelah have clean, safe drinking water," Cantwell stated. "I will continue to support the completion of this project."
Baumgartner's spokeswoman, Isabela Schandlbauer, said the City of Chewelah had a strong application. She added that, following the House Appropriations Committee's guidance, the congressman's top priorities for funding will be published "in the coming days."
While Baxter hopes this part of the project will be funded, he said they are continuing to work on other parts of the town's major water upgrade plan.
He said they will begin drilling in the next couple of weeks for the new well, which will provide 3,000 gallons of water per minute. Chewelah has a total of five wells across the town.
"We're under 2,000 gallons per minute," Baxter said. Water from the new well will be clean enough to not require chlorination.
He added with expansion plans for 49 North Degrees, the nearby ski resort, and NEW Health constructing a new site for additional services, providing clean water is crucial.
"Those jobs are going to be filled with folks that would likely live in the area," Baxter said. "That growth also will mandate need for expanded water capability."
