City takes steps to fix runoff problems

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

Bridget Pellett's yard is a battleground in a war against rainwater runoff.

Meanwhile, the city of Kalispell is cranking up ways to prevent Pellett's troubles from surfacing elsewhere.

A shallow concrete drainage ditch guards two sides of Pellett's yard.

A PVC pipe network routes water away from a crawl-space pump. That water drains into the concrete ditches.

A new gravel driveway leads upslope to her house, hiding the recently installed plastic and rocks beneath it that should keep water out of Pellett's crawl space.

A small new brick wall guards against seeping water trying to outflank the plastic barrier beneath the driveway.

Pellett routinely cleans dirt, stones and gunk from the ditch to help rainwater drain away.

Her house is one of the oldest in her southwest Kalispell neighborhood. That means other homes and streets were later built slightly uphill - funneling their storm water into Pellett's yard, crawl space and basement.

Last winter, her sump pump turned on every few minutes in a seesaw battle to try to keep her bottom floor dry.

"It's been an absolute nightmare," Pellett said.

This fall, her new anti-flooding measures have dramatically cut back - but have not eliminated - storm water entering her house's crawl space.

Because of the drainage problems, Pellett is pessimistic about ever selling her house.

But Pellett wants to see better planning for storm-water drainage in new neighborhoods and more thorough inspections of construction projects to ensure buildings stick to the approved drainage plans.

"What I want to see is accountability for the builders. … There needs to be special care before the houses start to be built," Pellett said.

Pellett is not alone.

Last spring, dozens of people from low-lying areas of Kalispell complained to the city about storm water flooding their yards, basements and crawl spaces.

New construction frequently changes the dynamics of how rain water and melted snow flow toward the city's streams. Earthmoving during construction can change how storm-water flows - often in unanticipated directions.

Another factor is that Kalispell's water table is often only a few feet underground - the same depth as many basements.

The situation has improved for some since last spring's complaints, but not for others.

Judy Perry has long dealt with a 130,000-gallon retention basin that was built next to her home - the second oldest in her southeast Kalispell neighborhood. Many of the newer homes funnel storm water into the basin, which had frequently overflowed into Perry's yard and basement .

It took more than a year of complaining to the city, state and developer before they built a berm next to her back fence that rerouted the water away from her home. Perry is still dealing with mold in her crawl space from the flooding.

The city of Kalispell a year ago hired Susie Turner, who has several years of experience as a drainage engineer for King County, Wash., to tackle the town's storm-water problems.

The city recently received a state-mandated permit for storm-water management. That is essentially a framework for how Kalispell is supposed to address drainage issues during the next five years.

This permit sets specific goals for each year.

By Dec. 31, the city is supposed to identify two sites - currently near Ashley Creek and northwest of the Kalispell Center Mall - to collect samples of rainwater within a half hour of a heavy rainfall twice a year. This is so the city can analyze the rainwater for dirt, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, acidity, metals, oils and grease, Turner said.

Also this year, the city is supposed to start setting up a public education program for storm-water matters. So far, it has some brochures and flyers printed. And Turner hopes to have a public forum on the issue scheduled soon.

And the city needs to get more detailed this year in its standards for sediments in storm water.

In 2007, the city government is supposed to set up a process where people - such as Pellett, Perry and others - can file complaints about storm-water matters.

Also in 2007, the city is supposed to address how to control erosion from construction projects - including getting local laws passed on managing construction as it relates to storm-water issues.

In 2008, the permit requires Kalispell to set up a storm-water drainage maintenance program.

The city is supposed to expand and build on these programs in subsequent years.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com