Bigfork adds third well to local water supply

The Bigfork Water and Sewer district is adding another well.

The district has been working on the project since 2010, when the Montana Department of Environmental Quality conducted a review and suggested expanding the water efficiency.

The third pump will serve as a backup in case one of the other pumps fails. “We have to be able to provide our maximum daily flow, with our largest pump out of service,” Bigfork Water and Sewer director Julie Spencer said.

The district will install two miles pipe along Montana 35 from the well off of Ramsfield Road north of Bigfork, to the water and sewer district well house.

The district drilled two new wells last fall, only one of which will be put into use. The cost of both phases of the project, drilling the wells and installing the pumps, is just over $3 million according to Spencer.

The district received a $750,000 grant from the Treasure State Endowment Fund for the project. The district is paying for the remainder from reserves and a $1.3 million loan.

Spencer expects work to begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year.

The Bigfork Water and Sewer district began servicing the Bigfork area will water in the 1980s. There has been significant growth in population and demand, making this new project necessary, Spencer said.

The two wells Bigfork currently operates on pump 1.5 million gallons of water a day to consumers. “It’s an incredible aquifer supplying our water,” Spencer said.

The district will still run only two pumps at once, placing the three wells in rotation.