A Bigfork stormwater infrastructure program nearly a decade in the making has received the final financial push it needed to complete all phases.
On Dec. 29, Flathead County received word it had been approved for a $1.2 million loan from the State Revolving Fund, enough money to finance the final phase of the project.
Bigfork and the county have been working on improving the stormwater system since 2007. By then, residents had become concerned about the amount of pollutants and nutrients carried into Flathead Lake and the bay at Bigfork whenever it rained; the previous stormwater system, constructed in 1950, was a maze of ineffective drainage systems.
In order to help keep the lake cleaner from runoff, the stormwater committee assembled a myriad selection of grants, both federal and state, as well as Flathead County approving a rural special improvement district to help pay for the cost.
The system includes a hydrodynamic separator on the south side of Lake Avenue, which removes sediments in stormwater runoff before passing into the larger system. This system also traps oil, which can be vacuumed out during maintenance.
Stormwater runoff then enters the Jellyfish system – a filtration system with up to 20 arms. The Jellyfish, in conjunction with the hydrodynamic separator, treats nearly all of the yearly runoff.
All of the construction on the project is complete, county grant administrator Whitney Aschenwald said, with the exception of one final invoice making its way to her desk.
“But other than that, it’s final,” she said.
The Flathead County Storm Sewer RSID will borrow the $1.2 million from the State Revolving Fund at a rate of 2.5 percent interest over 20 years. The fund is administered through the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation as well as the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said in a press release that the loan will help continue a great project that resulted as a collaboration between the county and Bigfork.
“Maintaining drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure pays dividends several times over,” Bullock said. “We protect the health and well-being of citizens; we protect our soil, groundwater and surface water. Communities with modern infrastructure are better prepared for new growth and development. And it was really great that a local contractor, LHC of Kalispell, will be doing the work on this project.”