Lewiston’s city council unanimously passed a Declaration of Local Disaster Emergency on Monday — less than a week after 3.3 million gallons of water escaped from one of its reservoirs, forcing thousands of residents to boil water.

The action is one of the steps involved in obtaining help from the Idaho Office of Emergency Management.

It is the second declaration the city has issued since the failure of the reservoir. The first was signed by Mayor Dan Johnson on Wednesday, the day the breach happened, and would have lasted just seven days without the council’s action.

The council’s declaration Monday goes beyond that window and can be rescinded by the mayor when it’s no longer needed. Councilor Hannah Liedkie was absent from the meeting.

The action followed comments from Dodd Snodgrass, a Lewiston resident whose property was affected by the deluge.

The city’s response has been great and he is willing to advocate for the city to get the resources it needs, said Snodgrass, executive director of the Clearwater Economic Development Association, which helps municipalities with infrastructure.

Still, Snodgrass said he has worries that include the challenges of some of his neighbors, whose yards and homes fared worse than his.

“I’m just pleading with you (that you) don’t forget about the people that were directly impacted by this damage,” he said.

After the meeting, Johnson said he has briefed Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s staff and will meet with them in Boise this week when he is there for an Association of Idaho Cities meeting.

Few new pieces of information surfaced Monday about the cause of the rupture, how long residents in a portion of the city that is generally south of 16th Avenue and Southway Avenue will need to boil water, or how much short- and long-term repairs of the reservoir will cost.

City staff is working with the Department of Environmental Quality to find ways to provide safe drinking water and adequate fire pressure, according to a news release issued by the city of Lewiston on Monday.

Isolating the broken reservoir from the rest of the city’s water system so the water boil order can be lifted remains a top priority.

“A few things need to happen in order to address the damage to the reservoir without putting too much pressure on the remainder of the water system,” according to the news release.

City employees are examining “how the city’s water system will respond when the reservoir is taken off line, as the flow of the water will be significantly modified from how it has traditionally operated,” according to the news release.

Clean drinking water is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Wednesday at the Lewiston Community Center at 1424 Main St., in Lewiston.

City elected officials praised the community’s handling of the emergency. Councilor Kassee Forsmann said it was great to see the Lewiston Public Works employees and the community come together to help each other.

“I am just so proud to see how in times of need, our community steps up,” she said. “Thank you again for all your hard work.”

In other business, the council:

Passed first reading of an ordinance that removes language about animal cruelty from city code so that city violations would be covered by state code and handled through the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office. Violations would continue to be misdemeanors, but state code generally allows animals to be impounded longer if necessary.

Few animal cruelty cases occur in Lewiston so there won’t be a great shift of work from city attorneys to the prosecutor’s office.

Passed an ordinance with second and third readings that shifts about 30 properties on 19 acres in a western part of downtown Lewiston from the general commercial to the central commercial zone. The general commercial zone has permitted and conditional uses such as mini-storage, gas stations, adult-themed businesses and homeless shelters.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.