Bigfork's unquenchable thirst

Water use hits record highs as demand grows

By ALEX STRICKLAND - Bigfork Eagle

Bigfork Water and Sewer pumped record levels of water to a record number of customers this summer. In July the plant pumped about 47 million gallons, up from 37 million during the same month last year. Volume hit 39 million gallons in August 2006.

Julie Spencer, District Manager for Bigfork Water and Sewer, said that heavy irrigation use and the summer influx of residents and tourists always ups the demand, but recent years have seen huge increases.

July 12 was the highest volume ever pumped in Bigfork, with 1,766,400 gallons of water going out into the community. That's almost seven of the green 250,000 gallon water storage tanks located above the Bigfork High School football field. And while numbers like that aren't maxing out the pump system, it is stressful.

"We're not totally sure how many gallons we can pump," Spencer said. "Probably in the 2 million gallons range. But it's stressful on the system to pump at that capacity for long."

And while the system isn't running at maximum capacity, there is a risk that continued leaps in water usage will deplete back-up supplies used for fire systems or community back-up in the event of a power outage.

Bigfork Water and Sewer currently has two, 250,000 gallon tanks that act as backup reservoirs, but since they are attached to the system, when usage spikes those tanks can get drawn down.

Part of the problem is some users, residential and commercial, use massive quantities of water for irrigation during the summer months.

For example, the average family of four uses about 5,000 gallons of water each month in their home. That's the amount of water held by an average 18-wheeler tanker truck. In the summer months that number might double to take into account irrigation uses. Some customers, however, were using up to 140,000 gallons per month. Individual homes were using up to 90,000 gallons, nine times the high-end estimate Bigfork Water and Sewer uses for residential properties.

The largest user, Ponderosa Boat Club, topped the charts with the 140,000 gallon figure. That volume of water was stressing the system enough that Spencer approached the subdivision about the issue and a solution is in the works.

Reto Barrington, manager of the Ponderosa Boat Club, said the club is already working on a solution. Though they already have one well on the property to supply irrigation water, the flow was insufficient, and water off the main line was used to augment that. Barrington said negotiations are under way for a second well already on the property that would provide enough water to cover all the club's irrigation needs, therefore only using the Bigfork Water supply for households.

"We have a quiet period now to resolve this," Barrington said. "We're confident we'll be able to help Bigfork Water."

Barrington said the new well system will be in place by next summer.

From Spencer's perspective, it's not that the current system can't handle the load that a customer like the Ponderosa Boat Club requires, it's that if another such development were to come along, the combination might prove too much for the pumps to maintain flow and keep a back-up supply.

Regardless, the growth has put expanded operations on the horizon for Bigfork Water and Sewer, which already has a water treatment system expansion scheduled for the next few years. They purchased property for a new well and back-up tank that will most likely be operational inside of five years, Spencer said. But that timeline is largely at the mercy of continued growth in the area.

"Things like that [Ponderosa Club] push up the schedule for a new well and storage tanks," she said.

Spencer also points out that while usage is increasing, it's not yet at a critical phase during peak times, though they "may send out more letters urging people to conserve water."

Water volumes have increased, but so has the number of customers Bigfork Water and Sewer serves. In July of 1998 about 34 million gallons were pumped to 776 customers. This July's 47 million gallons went to 1,144 customers. The numbers in both columns have fluctuated on a yearly basis but are following an overall upward trend.

Despite the record-setting amount of water pumped this summer, Spencer said wastewater levels were actually down from last year, something that can be attributed to evaporation and a lack of large rain events.

Water that is treated at Bigfork Water and Sewer is actually cleaner than the water flowing into the lake from the Swan River, Spencer said. But not all water pumped out comes back through the treatment facility.

Bonnie Ellis, a research scientist at the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station in Yellow Bay, said that Flathead lake is seeing a steady increase in nitrogen content. Ellis said this can be largely attributed to runoff containing fertilizers making its way into the lake.

"This is really something individuals can do to promote water quality," she said of refraining from using fertilizers. People who live near intermittent or perennial water sources, or where ground water might be shallow are particularly prone to having their runoff enter the lake quickly.

Increased nitrogen levels stimulate algae production, which in turn lowers water quality. Ellis said studies have shown that nitrogen moves easily through the soil and that groundwater is fast moving in many areas so it doesn't take much for it to end up in the lake.

She recommended that people - especially those in at-risk areas- "naturalize" their property by planting native vegetation that doesn't require fertilizer and doesn't need water once established. Ellis said efforts are being made nation-wide to promote these water-efficient and fertilizer-free landscapes.

Spencer had a similar view of the huge amounts of irrigating that occur in the Flathead's arid climate.

"Bigfork is pretty green," she said. "Especially when you consider that this is supposed to be a semi-desert community."