Stormwater meeting highlights water issues

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee held the first of two public meetings last Tuesday to discuss the findings of the preliminary engineering report conducted by Morrison-Maierlie.

The report highlighted some serious concerns about Bigfork's stormwater problems, the worst of which centered on a drain pipe next to the public dock on Lake Avenue next to the Swan River Inn. Samples taken where that pipe discharges into Bigfork Bay showed amounts of both health and water-quality-jeopardizing pollutants in huge levels.

"The compelling thing about this sampling is that it was taken right at the dock," engineer Bill Buxton said at the meeting. The sample numbers used were taken from a study done by the University of Montana Biological Research Station at Yellow Bay in 1996.

The report shows untreated stormwater discharging directly into Bigfork Bay or the Swan River from pipes on Lake Avenue, River Street and Bridge Street, all of which convey pollutants and contaminants from the village.

Some of those pollutants include fecal bacteria from wildlife, pets and people, as well as toxins like antifreeze, gasoline and oil and grease from cars.

Buxton explained that Flathead Lake has been identified as an "impaired" body of water, based on calculations that assert the daily load of pollutants is above a certain threshold.

"This is kind of a bold statement," Buxton said. "But Montana is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act."

Because there are no regulations on stormwater discharge for small, unincorporated communities like Bigfork, it's difficult to regulate pollution from non-point sources like stormwater, he said.

The PER is the first step in a process that would hopefully culminate in renovating Bigfork's stormwater drainage system. The advisory committee was appointed by the Flathead County Commissioners to guide the process and Bigfork has been working closely with county grant writer Debbie Pierson. Buxton said that, with luck, upwards of $900,000 could be acquired in grant money toward the completion of the project.

The engineering study was funded by a grant, and such a study is required to obtain further granting, he said.

County Commissioner Joe Brenneman, who was instrumental in getting the process under way, was at the meeting and said that without the persistence of Bigfork residents Bill Myers and Tom Lewis, both of whom have complained to the commissioners about the situation for some time, the project wouldn't have gotten off the ground.

"It's not likely (it would have happened without them)," Brenneman said.

The committee will host another meeting at 7 p.m. on April 23 at the Methodist Church on Commerce Street to go over the information again as well as solicit input from the public for suggestions or additional problem areas.

Buxton said the next step is to finish the draft engineering report and start discussing alternatives, costs and funding options for the project.

"The whole idea here is that we protect stormwater, filter it, and protect Flathead Lake," he said.