Southwest District Health Department

Project Highlights: This 9.6 acre parcel was chosen as the site for the new Southwest District Health Facility. Previously this site served as an alfalfa field. The new facility replaces the current outdated one in downtown Caldwell. The health district serves the six Southwest Idaho counties of Adams, Washington, Payette, Gem, Canyon, and Owyhee. When completed, this new facility will have over 50,000 SF of office, storage and clinic space. The site fronts Karcher Road (Hwy 55) but takes access from two private lanes off Florida Avenue through the neighboring property. The project civil engineering plans consisted of grading and drainage plans, utility plans (sewer, water, pressurized irrigation and storm drainage), survey control plans and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Even though there was no gravity irrigation design required for the site, there was significant coordination with Pioneer Irrigation District and the City of Caldwell pertaining to three irrigation delivery ditches located just outside the west and south boundaries. The Bitten 25.1 Lateral and a downstream user ditch run north along the west boundary and the Fenton Lateral runs east just outside the south boundary along Karcher Road. Easements, utility crossings, coordination of construction, and lastly a re-design for the two entrance road crossings for the westerly user ditch were involved in the process. City of Caldwell public water mains were looped around the site and four infiltration trenches were constructed to accommodate significant storm runoff and provide redundancy in the design while also limiting the extent of the grading and earthwork required for the site.