Page 11 - Flathead Beacon // 12.3.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS DECEMBER 3, 2014 | 11
Libby Raises Water Rates as Flower Creek Dam Project Gets Underway
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The most significant phase of Libby’s water improvement project begins
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
The much-awaited construction of the new Flower Creek Dam in Libby is about to begin, according to Mayor Doug Roll.
The reservoir behind the dam, locat- ed southwest of the city, has been low- ered and contractors have begun mov- ing equipment onto the site so that con- struction of a new dam can start within the month. The project is estimated to cost more than $8 million and is part of a multi-year water system improvement project in Libby.
At the same time, Libby recently raised water rates in order to pay for the improvements. Roll said the city had hoped it didn’t have to raise rates, but noted that the infrastructure improve- ments were critical.
“There is a big issue with aging infra- structure across the nation,” Roll said. “We’re not alone.”
The dam was built in 1946 and holds back the community’s drinking water. In 2010 it was deemed inadequate and engineers say it could be compromised
if there were a major seismic event in the area. Morrison-Maierle completed a core sample test of the arch dam and found that the concrete strength was less than 1,000 pounds per square inch. Normal strength is between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds per square inch. A report, issued by Morrison-Maierle in Septem- ber 2011, stated that under normal con- ditions the dam would be usable for an- other five years. If a seismic event did compromise the dam, Flower Creek and Libby could be flooded. In 2012, Lincoln County installed a new sensor and alert system at the dam. If there were a sud- den drop in water behind the dam, 911 dispatchers would be notified and could view images of the site to decide if a siren should be sounded in the city.
The new dam will be built 85 feet downstream from the current one and will cost an estimated $8.4 million and will be covered by various government loans and grants.
Although city officials said they be- lieved the project was critical to the city’s infrastructure, it has dealt with numerous delays over the last few years, particularly after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rescinded a 2012 com- ment on the project and asked that a bio- logical assessment of local grizzly bear, Canada lynx and bull trout populations be completed before the project moved
forward.
The dam construction comes after
the city wrapped up its water-main im- provement project, which took more than a year and a half. Roll said the city was able to replace about 10 percent of the water mains in an effort to reduce the number of water leaks in the sys- tem. Despite those improvements, Lib- by’s water system still has issues and city employees have been dispatched to complete emergency repairs on the wa- ter mains on numerous occasions over the last few months. The most notable incident occurred in November on U.S. Highway 2 and closed the main route through town for nearly 15 hours.
In order to pay for some of the im- provements, the city has raised water rates. Previously, city residents paid a base rate of $33 a month for 3,000 gal- lons of water. For every additional 1,000 gallons people would pay $2.96. Now people pay a base rate of $36 and an ad- ditional $2.96 for every 1,000 gallons of water they use.
Rolls said the rate increases would have been steeper had it not been for money the city received a few years ago in a settlement with International Paper because of a groundwater contamina- tion at the old lumber mill.
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Northwest Montana Rattled By Two More Minor Quakes
Two minor earthquakes felt in McGregor Lake area on Dec. 1
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Just three weeks after a pair of earthquakes rattled windows and book- shelves, two more seismic events were reported in the Flathead Valley and sci- entists say this could be an indication that a seismic “swarm” has begun in the area.
On Dec. 1 at 5:40 a.m., a 3.0 magni- tude earthquake shook the McGregor Lake area, almost the exact same area impacted by the 4.0 quake on Nov. 11. The epicenter of the earthquake was 3.6 miles beneath the surface. Less than three hours later at 8:13 a.m., a 3.5 mag- nitude earthquake 5.3 miles below the surface shook the same exact area.
Mike Stickney, director of the Mon- tana Bureau of Mines and Geology’s Earthquake Studies Office, said there
were a number of reports from local residents who said they felt the second quake.
Earthquakes are rare but not un- heard of in Northwest Montana and Stickney said the series of shakes could indicate that a seismic “swarm” is be- ginning. An earthquake swarm is a se- ries of minor to moderate earthquakes in a single area that can last for months. They are common in places with lots of volcanic activity, such as Yellowstone National Park, but also happen in places with little volcanic connections, such as Northwest Montana.
“Swarms of earthquakes can last anywhere from a few hours to a few months,” Stickney said. “They’re not well understood.”
Stickney said the 3.9 earthquake on Nov. 14 that shook the Whitefish area was most likely not related to the Mc- Gregor Lake swarm.
“It can be frightening for people to feel repeated earthquakes and you may start wondering what’s going on with the earth but as of right now we have no in-
dication that this activity is leading up to a major seismic event,” Stickney said.
Stickney said Northwest Montana has a history of earthquake swarms, most notably in the Polson area from 1969 until 1971. In April 1969, a 4.7 mag- nitude quake caused damage in Big Arm, Dayton, Lake Mary Ronan and Polson. There were at least 21 aftershocks felt during the following month and 325 minor aftershocks were reportedly felt from May 1969 until December 1971. In 1995, another swarm of earthquakes im- pacted the Kila area for months.
The largest earthquake to ever hit Montana in recorded history was near Hebgen Lake, near Yellowstone Na- tional Park, in 1959. The 7.3 magnitude quake resulted in 28 fatalities and $11 million in damage.
Stickney said that earthquakes are hard to predict but that this recent swarm of quakes in Northwest Montana are a subtle reminder that the state is “earthquake country” and prone to seis- mic activity.
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