Craft beer has boomed over the last 15 years. But brewing it takes a lot of water: a seven-to-one ratio on average, according to the Brewer’s Association. More efficient breweries typically use less.
Breweries can’t just put anything down the drain. There are regulations around pH levels and chemical concentrations in wastewater. It also is typically high in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) which is the amount of oxygen needed to break down organic matter.
“We are always trying to learn and understand more about all the industries that are sending water to us,” said Boise Public Works Administrative Chief Heather Buchanan.
She said they monitor BOD, total suspended solids (TSS), and now phosphorus and ammonia levels as well. The city realized years ago local brewers weren’t necessarily charged appropriately when they initially connected to the wastewater system.
The city this summer went back to brewers to reassess, with a calculation of what they should have paid going back years.
“We were looking at $70,000,” explained Collin Rudeen, President and founder of community-owned Boise Brewing.
Rudeen was shocked, and worried. Assessments were large enough that some operations — including his — would have been unable to pay.
“It would be a whole bunch of breweries out of business immediately,” he said.
Larger breweries got larger assessments — some well into six figures.
Buchanan said the city, which wants growth to pay for growth, calculated those assessments based on multiple factors — but did try to level the playing field for breweries which came online at different times in different situations. But brewers balked, arguing they paid what they were told was the proper amounts at the time.
“What we thought we were trying to do, to be very fair to all breweries, we realized, wasn't as fair as we were trying to be,” Buchanan said.
In a meeting at city hall with local brewers Sept. 6, the city agreed to drop assessments for previous years and move forward with wastewater fees based on a brewery’s 2023 production volume.
Brewery leaders like Rudeen and Bear Island Brewing’s Beth Bechtel said brewers were satisfied with that outcome, and appreciated the communication and transparency from the city during the process.
But they know they’ll face higher bills for their wastewater in the future. Buchanan said some are trying to get an agreement done before rates go up October first.
“Since we didn't raise rates since 2014, you would expect quite a change,” she said. Rates are going up 34% next month, she explained, “and it's going to increase the next two years by about the same amount.”
And because Garden City and Eagle share Boise’s wastewater treatment network, breweries in those areas should also be prepared for a knock on the door from water managers in the near future.
