The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) will move forward with buying Pristine Springs, a geothermal aquifer used to heat most of its Twin Falls campus.
Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a resolution directing CSI administrators to finalize the $2.4 million purchase. State legislators appropriated $1.2 million this year and CSI will pay the other $1.2 million using plant facilities money reserved for the project.
Buying Pristine Springs ensures the college will have geothermal water rights to continue to save at least $125,000 in heating costs per year, and it will allow for potential new lab and program opportunities for students.
“This is one of the best things the CSI board has accomplished,” board chairman Karl Kleinkopf said during a Tuesday meeting.
Pristine Springs spans about 400 acres on the Jerome County side of the Snake River, near the Blue Lakes Trout Farm.
It includes an aquaculture facility, farmland, a mile of riparian land along the Snake River, and co-generation combined heat and power facilities.