People urged to avoid Flathead River near city sewage treatment plant after power failure

Folks are urged to not recreate in the Flathead River immediately below the Columbia Falls sewage treatment plant after a power failure at the plant Monday morning, city manager Susan Nicosia said.

The plant is located at 600 Veteran’s Drive and approximately 1.4 miles west of the old Red Bridge.

The treatment system has failed and is not currently treating the effluent including the removal of phosphorous or nitrates. However, the system is not discharging solids into the river.

The city is working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Flathead County Health Department on the situation and hopes to have the plant back up and running by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

Nicosia said once the necessary parts become available, the city, working with Flathead Electric Co-op, will have it installed immediately.

The power failed after a three-phase switch failed. The backup generator that is designed to run the plant in the event of an emergency also runs power through the same circuit, so the plant couldn’t be run with backup generator power, Nicosia told city council Monday night.

The city does not anticipate any fines from the DEQ, as it self-reported the incident.

Once the problem is fixed, the public will be notified.

The plant treats about 450,000 gallons of sewage a day but is currently in the process of being upgraded.

Those upgrades will also examine how to avoid a power failure in the future.