Bay Sewer project expanded to include Osborn Ave line

A project to construct a new sewer main to downtown Bigfork has been amended to include an additional 920 feet of sewer main and 29 service connections at a cost of $547,000, bringing the project total to $4.17 million.

The aim of the Bay Sewer Main Replacement Project is to install a sewer main on Osborn Avenue, replacing the existing line that runs along the Bay from Bridge Street to a lift station on Grand Drive. A significant difficulty with the current main is access for cleaning, which must be done twice each year to remove pockets of grease that build up in the bellies of the line. Maintenance staff need to obtain permission from numerous landowners to access the line and the clean-up is expensive, noted Jeff Cicon, project manager and civil engineer with Morrison-Maierle.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult,” Cicon said. “There’s limited access there and Bigfork is growing and developing.”

The location itself is also problematic -- given the line’s proximity to Bigfork Bay and the Swan River, a sewage overflow could spell disaster for local waterways.

Rather than replace the line in its current footprint, the Bigfork Water and Sewer District advocated for a new line to be installed farther from shore where it would be easier to access and farther away from the water. The expansion to the project, approved by the district, will replace the sewer along Osborn Avenue.

“The district wanted to expand the project to replace that at the same time so they were addressing all the sewer issues downtown at the same time,” Cicon explained.

There will be no additional impacts to the downtown corridor since the additional line will run alongside the new main, apart from dust and noise during construction, he said.

As far as funding goes, Cicon said the exact details are still being ironed out. According to a Nov. 2 legal notice, the bulk of the project will be funded by a $2.04 million loan from the Water Pollution Control State Revolving Fund Program, which the district will pay back over a 20 year period with 2.5% interest. The remainder will be covered by a combination of grant funding, including $500,000 from the Treasure State Endowment Fund and $325,000 from other sources, along with $157,000 in local funds.

Cicon said impacts to water and sewer rates are currently being evaluated.

“If there were impacts to the rates that would need to be addressed per state law which would include notification to the residents and things like that,” he said.

Construction is scheduled to get underway next spring and Kalispell’s LHC will be performing the work. The project will likely impact Bridge Street and Osborn Avenue first with the installation of a lift station on Osborn Avenue. Individual services will be impacted on Electric Avenue and other areas in the fall as work will cease over the busy summer tourism season.

“There will be several road closures that will likely be required -- when and how many are still up in the air,” Cicon said. “LHC will be communicating to the affected businesses and property owners in advance of any closures.”