Better local control needed to protect water quality

Something needs to be done about pollution in the Flathead Basin, and that it’s likely going to take local action, not state or federal agencies.

That was the message delivered at the Flathead Wastewater Regional Management Group’s public meeting in Kalispell on Sept. 29.

Speakers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, county health departments, a private engineering firm, and local and state governments described sources of nutrient pollution that can cause algae blooms in Flathead Lake, government regulations aimed at those sources and future impacts.

Under the heading “Future costs of wastewater treatment,” speakers set the rising costs for municipalities — point sources that are regulated — against the biggest polluters in the Flathead Basin — nonpoint sources that are not regulated.

Nonpoint sources include septic systems, forests, farms, ranches, burning, stormwater and dust blown in from faraway places. Surprisingly, one of the worst polluters is nature itself.

Natural sources

Flathead Basin’s municipalities were represented by Columbia Falls city councilor Mike Shepard and Polson city engineer Shari Johnson. They estimated about $85 million has been spent upgrading sewer treatment plants since the 1980s. That doesn’t include future costs to Whitefish and others needed to keep up with increasingly stringent EPA and DEQ standards.

Citing EPA and DEQ documents, Johnson noted that point sources, predominantly sewer treatment plants, account for only 1.62 percent of phosphorus entering Flathead Lake and 1.39 percent of nitrogen. The question raised is whether additional expensive treatment measures will really make a difference.

“We have plucked the low-lying fruit,” Johnson said, adding, “We do need to concentrate on what we can control, but in a reasonable way.”

According to DEQ’s 2001 nutrient management plan for Flathead Lake, unmanaged forests account for 62 percent, precipitation 10 percent, managed forests 6 percent, agriculture and urban runoff 6 percent, shoreline septics 5 percent and sewer treatment plants 2 percent.

The figures for nitrogen were similar, with unmanaged forests accounting for 56 percent, managed forests 25 percent, precipitation 6 percent, agriculture and urban areas 6 percent, shoreline septics 3 percent and sewer treatment plants 2 percent.

Sources can also be broken out by geography. According to the DEQ’s 2011 draft water quality summary for the Flathead Basin, 39 percent of the phosphorus entering Flathead Lake comes from the North Fork of the Flathead River, 50 percent from the Middle Fork and 4 percent from the South Fork. For nitrogen, the contributions are 23 percent from the North Fork, 39 percent Middle Fork and 22 percent South Fork.

“A large nutrient load to Flathead Lake originates from relatively unaltered watersheds, such as the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork of the Flathead River, which for the most part is naturally occurring,” Johnson said.

According to the same 2011 report, only 3 percent of the phosphorus and 9 percent of the nitrogen entering Flathead Lake is man-caused by either point or nonpoint sources. The rest comes from natural causes.

One man-caused nonpoint source that draws a lot of attention is individual septic systems, but Tom Cowen, of Carver Engineering, believes septic systems are not a problem so long as they are built correctly and maintained.

“Those located near a waterbody need a closer look,” he added.

The most common failures are age and overloading, but generally owners quickly respond to a failed septic system.

Carver Engineering’s countywide survey for the Flathead Wastewater Regional Management Group came up with 25,877 septic systems in the Flathead Basin, including Flathead and Lake counties, discharging about 5.1 million gallons of wastewater each day.

“These numbers are huge, but it must be understood that these quantities of wastewater are being discharged over a very large area,” Cowen said.

Several areas with a high density of septics could be candidates for connecting to city sewer, but it will be expensive to run pipes and put in lift stations. Cowen cited Mosquito Flats and North Hilltop Road, both outside Columbia Falls, as examples.

Rep. Ed Lieser, D-Whitefish, said he tried to introduce a bill that would require septic systems be inspected whenever a property exchanged hands, but “it never made it out of committee.” It also got nowhere when he proposed the idea to the Montana Environmental Quality Council.

Susan Brueggeman, Lake County’s director of Environmental Health, suggested two changes to safeguard septic systems. First, the state’s standards should be based on a septic system’s flow rate, the type of soil accepting discharge and the proximity to a waterbody. Second, instead of granting a septic system permit “forever,” owners should get an “operating permit” that expires every five years. “Owners would have to prove their system is OK with an inspection, pumping out the tank and making necessary repairs,” she said. “It would take a lot of political will and community support to succeed.” Pumping out septic systems every five years, however, could create a lot of septage, Brueggeman said.

According to Carver Engineering’s report, few municipal treatment plants will accept septage, which is highly concentrated compared to municipal wastewater. The report found that 13 Flathead County sewage pumpers disposed of 3.2 million gallons of septage on about 250 acres of farmland in the valley.

While 12,356 gallons per acre was within the recommended application rates, Cowen was concerned about the state, rather than the county, regulating sewage pumpers. He cited missing data, lax renewal permitting and untilled frozen ground in winter as problems.

With Whitefish looking at possibly spending $15 million on upgrading its sewage treatment plant, city engineer John Wilson has been looking at “nutrient trading” to lessen the cost. He said the city is using a $100,000 state grant on a project downstream on the Whitefish River, but additional projects have been hard to find.

Flathead Basin Commission chairman Chas Cartwright noted that the Flathead’s population will continue to grow and that stormwater is carrying hazardous substances into Flathead Lake.

“Phosphorus and nitrogen are not the only problems,” he said. “The EPA and DEQ are only focusing on part of the problem.”

Joining a consensus that had formed among the speakers, Cartwright called for action at the local level.

“It’s time for local governments to stand up and address these issues,” he said. “The longer we wait, the more costly the fix.”