School drills well, but can't service concession building

By ALEX STRICKLAND/Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork School District decided a few weeks ago that the best way to get around what they considered to be the too-high cost of hooking into the Bigfork Water and Sewer District was to drill a well to service their new concession stand building and irrigate the football field.

The well was drilled last week, but the concession building's bathrooms remain dry.

School District Superintendent Russ Kinzer said the school went ahead with the well — to the tune of about $20,000 — because the district pays about $5,000 each year in irrigation costs alone, so the well will pay for itself in four or five years.

But Julie Spencer of the Bigfork Water and Sewer District said that according to her district's regulations, wells can only be used for irrigation inside the water district and that any buildings have to hook up to the system.

"They're not allowed to do it for human consumption," she said.

Kinzer said the district started pursuing the idea of a well after the building was completed over the winter and initial hook-up costs for water and sewer were quoted at around $40,000 for a 2-inch meter. It was later determined that a 1.5-inch meter would be sufficient, at a cost of $27,880. Kinzer and Spencer both said that the water and sewer district applied credits and discounts to reach a final cost of $19,625.

"It seems like a very unreasonable cost for a building that will be used no more than a dozen times a year," Kinzer said.

In an earlier letter to Kinzer, Spencer wrote that the more than $8,000 discount being offered included a credit for the building's current 3/4-inch connection, despite the fact that the school only paid $2,237 for it in 2003.

Since that time, a few small rate increases have been passed as well as a substantial plant investment fee, aimed at upgrading and expanding the aging Bigfork Water and Sewer infrastructure. A 3/4-inch connection would cost $8,255 today.

For comparison, a 1.5-inch water hookup costs $7,972 in the Lakeside Water and Sewer District and a sewer connection of the same size costs $6,852.

Spencer said the hook-up costs are calculated based on the line's capacity, and a 1.5-inch line is capable of moving a lot of water. But Kinzer said that the line's capacity would only be in use for a few home football games and track meets each year, along with the occasional community event like Relay for Life.

Because the building wouldn't qualify as a public water supply — defined as serving more than 25 people at least 60 times per year — monthly testing and filtration systems wouldn't be necessary, according to Glen Gray at the Flathead County Health Department.

Gray said the only restrictions on private wells are put forth by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and Kinzer said he'd already cleared their hurdles.

But even if the district could use the water from the well in the building, Spencer said the building would still have to hook up to the sewer system, per district regulations, at a cost of about $13,000.

Kinzer said he would bring Spencer's letter and the current situation before the school board at their next meeting on Wednesday, April 21 to get direction.

"It seems like a lot of obstacles to try to get a public-use building serviced for a minimum number of days per year," he said.