Water and sewer district making progress

Bigfork's Water and Sewer District board discussed energy efficiency, the bay sewer main near downtown and some other upcoming and ongoing projects during their meeting on Jan. 11.

“Everything has been stable,” Water and Sewer District Manager, Julie Spencer, said. “The new plant is the big thing, we're all spending time on it now; it's not done yet but it will be between eight and nine million (dollars), we're hoping for closer to eight.”

The design for the sewage treatment plant came from Kubota in Japan and was used primarily in Europe and Canada.

“It's designed for smaller communities, and since we're right on Flathead Lake we have to have it,” Spencer said. “Most small towns don't have it because they're not required to and they're not on a Class A water body.”

Minor change orders were approved during the meeting as the construction process nears completion.

“It will be done sometime this spring, it depends on how everything goes, this is the first plant of this type in the state,” Spencer said. “Some of it is weather related because we need to bring in seed sludge from Kalispell, it's a starter for the process.”

Woods Bay is currently on septic and would like to connect to Bigfork's sewer system. The process has been years in the making and Woods Bay is currently in the process of designing the connection system and obtaining funds for the project.

“The main thing they are looking for is costs to connect because it's not the same county and they can't pay the same rate,” Spencer said.

The board also discussed possible ways to dealß with the aging bay sewer main. There used to be a road near the old bridge where the bay sewer main exists, so working on it requires careful planning.

“The bay sewer main is almost 50 years old and we're looking for ways to replace or mitigate issues with it,” Spencer said. “It's an old main, so we're obtaining easements for it.”

Energy efficiency for the Water and Sewer District was on the agenda as well; the board is currently looking for ways to improve the efficiency of lighting, pumps, heating and electricity in district buildings.

“There's a grant from Flathead Electric for people that conserve electricity,” Spencer said.