Lakeside District Downsizes Water Rights for Territory 1889
At a crowded and contentious meeting, board members reduced a water rights agreement for the high-profile Lakeside development from 125 acre-feet of water to 80 acre-feet
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Lakeside County Water and Sewer District board members gathered in the district’s small conference room Wednesday afternoon to discuss the water rights for Territory 1889, Discovery Land Company’s latest resort development proposed for Lakeside. The district approved a water lease agreement for the development in August to lease 125 acre-feet of water, or 40.7 million gallons, annually to Territory 1889. The lease included water for phase one, two and parts of phase three.
The development includes a private golf course and a more than 350-unit subdivision. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reviewed the sanitary facilities for phase one earlier this year, which includes the project’s first 80 homes.
At Wednesday’s special meeting, water and sewer board members voted to terminate the lease and sign a new agreement allocating water for only phase one and two, downsizing to only 80-acre feet of water, or roughly 26.1 million gallons, per year.
More than 40 Lakeside ratepayers and community members gathered in a garage connected to the small conference room. Senior citizens sat in a few plastic folding chairs in front of a television displaying the meeting agenda, while most people stood on the cement floor listening over a loudspeaker.
The meeting began with public comment, which garnered multiple requests to reschedule for a later date in the large conference room at the nearby Lakeside Quick Response Unit. Several attendees complained about throat irritation from unidentifiable fumes in the garage and requested the large doors be opened, despite the outside temperature hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Outdoor noise from passing cars and nearby construction made it difficult to hear at times.
“We need reasonable accommodations to hold this meeting, we’re your neighbors,” Somers resident Jim Matthews said. “Don’t try to get around it by opening garage doors and windows. Let’s just do it right, just like this project.”
Board member Darcy Lard made a motion to postpone the meeting, which failed without support from other board members. Upset citizens packed into the small conference room to crowd out the meeting, and board members called a recess to wait for sheriff’s deputies to arrive.
After deputies came and spoke with members of both parties, they left with a warning to keep things civil. About an hour later the board reconvened.
In the new water use agreement, Flathead Friends, LLC, a subsidiary of the Discovery Land Company, will pay $52,160 annually for seven years culminating in a purchase price of $365,120. The project will also be subject to charges based on water consumption.
The agreement refers to water already part of the district’s existing water rights, which all told includes about 635-acre feet of water per year.
Last year, the district applied for new water rights from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). The new water use permit would add 249 acre-feet, or 81 million gallons, per year to the district’s water rights, all of which would flow to Territory 1889 through two on-site wells. The permit is currently tied up in litigation with local environmental groups arguing the DNRC failed to properly respond to concerns they raised about the permit.
If the new on-site water rights are approved, the district will be released from the 80-acre-feet agreement. If the new on-site water rights are not approved by the end of the seven-year payment period, Territory 1889 will continue to have access to the 80-acre-feet of water but will be required to construct an off-site water line connecting Territory 1889’s water infrastructure to the district.
Board members approved the termination of the 125-acre-feet lease and approved the 80-acre-feet agreement, save for Lard.
“I understand the opinions on the development and the bias that people don’t want it,” General Manager Rodney Olson said. “But we are not the commissioners, we are not the planning department. We offer sewer and water as a public entity, whether it’s to one lot or a subdivision.”