Construction continues on new wastewater treatment facility

Crews are continuing work on phase 1 of a new wastewater treatment plant north of Somers that will eventually become a regional septage facility.  

Lakeside County Water and Sewer District General Manager Rodney Olsen said construction for phase 1 started in April. The new plant is being built in the same location as the existing wastewater treatment facility for the district, which has been there for nearly 40 years.  

Construction for phase 1 consists of building a new headworks facility on the east side of the property with screening, grit removal and air handling. Olsen said this facility, along with other miscellaneous additions, will support the new plant being built in the second phase. 

The west side of the property is where the septage receiving facility is being built, Olsen said, and it will not become operational until the plant in phase 2 is completed.   

“This will be where the permitted septic tank haulers will come and pay to offload the septage into the facility. Then it will then be screened and pumped to the headworks for further screening, grit removal and etcetera, before going through the new treatment plant for complete treatment per DEQ permit levels,” Olsen said in an email response.  

Phase 2 includes the specialized wastewater treatment facility to handle the district’s normal wastewater flow along with septage, increasing total treated water to roughly 900,000 gallons a day. 

The facility is part of an interlocal agreement set in 2024 between the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District and Flathead County. The county offered federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for the project in exchange for septic waste acceptance, up to about $23.5 million for the district to build the facility and sets terms of its operations for the next 20 years.   

Proponents argued that Flathead County is in dire need of a place to dispose of septic waste. Olsen said many who are concerned don’t understand the location of the current facility, which is located along Somers Stage Road, north of its intersection with U.S. 93.   

“I explain how our current ‘aerated lagoon’ treatment and irrigation system works, that it has worked great over the years but is now 40 years old. Lagoon and spray irrigation systems are meant to be in very rural areas, which this was in 1987, but we can all agree this is not the case anymore. It is a very rudimentary form of treatment,” Olsen said.  

He said the new plant will provide an updated treatment process, which will treat wastewater 80% better than the existing process. In this new process, the district will be adding solids handling to remove the biosolids, which will be collected into a dumpster and hauled to the landfill. The final process is to discharge the treated liquid, monitored by the DEQ through daily, weekly and monthly testing. 

The project has faced scrutiny from some community members and groups, such as Citizens For a Better Flathead. The group sued the district in the spring, alleging that its board did not follow public participation rules before approving the construction of the new facility and service to the proposed Flathead Lake Club development. 

Lakeside County Water and Sewer Board President Marc Liechti told the Inter Lake in May that the district exceeded all legal requirements for public notice and participation, adding there was Citizens For a Better Flathead representative attending every meeting.   

Most recently, the Citizens, along with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for the issuance of a new pollutant groundwater discharge permit to the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District. The lawsuit claims that pollution from the plant will flow into Lower Ashley Creek and Flathead Lake far more quickly and in more potent concentrations than anticipated, impacting their beneficial uses and causing environmental damage.  

In the final Environmental Assessment for the project, DEQ personnel found minor impacts related to increased soil moisture as a result of the infiltration system, but no other impacts to geology and soil quality, stability and moisture.  

Construction activities could temporarily contribute to some water quality issues on site, but the DEQ found negligible or no impacts on water quality from the facility, noting the facility must operate within the bounds of their permit.   

The DEQ declined to comment on the lawsuit due to the pending litigation.  

Olsen said as they get further into the planning for phase 2 later in the fall, they will once again invite public participation — with an open house or a public hearing.  

In February, there was a public hearing ahead of the approval of the district seeking their Montana Ground Water Pollution Control System permit.  

More information about the wastewater treatment facility can be found on the district’s website at lcwsd.com/ and clicking on the latest updates for the new plant. 

Taylor Inman may be reached at 758-4440 or tinman@dailyinterlake.com.