A field of bluegrass to be used as an outlet for treated wastewater isn’t jazzy as public projects go.

A new school is jazzy. A new library is jazzy. So is a new community center. And even a new police station. But there’s no way to doll up a bond election that calls for spending $9.5 million over 10 years to buy 1,000 acres of open space to irrigate with treated wastewater. At best, supporters can argue that the purchase is needed to stabilize sewage costs and land application won’t harm drinking water.

Jazzy or not, Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin and Public Works Director Terry Werner make a convincing argument that River City should have the authority to buy farmland on the Rathdrum Prairie now to meet long-range sewer obligations. With the Environmental Protection Agency pushing to limit the amount of treated wastewater dumped into the Spokane River, Post Falls is searching for an alternative that will allow it to continue to grow while protecting the river and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

On Tuesday, Post Falls will ask voters for majority approval to purchase 500 acres of farmland now and another 500 acres in 10 years.

The $9.5 million bond is the best means to improve water quality in the endangered Spokane River, prepare to meet future EPA guidelines and keep a significant part of the vanishing Rathdrum Prairie free from development. Best of all, Post Falls residents can buy the necessary property without raising monthly fees for sewer and stormwater service. The proposed bond would replace one of three sewer bonds set to expire next year.

Absentee voting has begun at Post Falls City Hall and the Kootenai County Election Department.

The city of Post Falls isn’t re-inventing the wheel here. In opting to irrigate with treated wastewater, it is following the progressive lead of more than 1,900 other communities and public entities, including the Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District, the city of Spirit Lake, Washington State University and the University of Idaho. The two universities on the Palouse use treated wastewater to irrigate parks, golf courses and playing fields. Hayden pumps effluent to the Spokane River during the winter and irrigates bluegrass and poplar trees with it in the summer. Spirit Lake stores treated wastewater during the winter and irrigates alfalfa fields with it in the summer.

Before Post Falls buys any land, however, it should heed the concerns of Kootenai County residents who fret that the prairie soil is too porous to filter effluent properly. The city would merely be trading one water quality problem for another if it reduced the flow of treated wastewater into the Spokane River while contaminating the aquifer with effluent. A preliminary soils analysis indicates the soil is suitable for irrigation with treated wastewater. But more studies are needed to guarantee the region’s sole source of drinking water won’t be harmed.

Importantly, the bond vote doesn’t lock Post Falls officials into buying a particular piece of land. If the property they want south of Hayden Avenue between Chase Road and just east of Idaho Road proves unsuitable, they can find another parcel.