Whitefish gets money for sewer upgrades

The Daily Inter Lake

The state has OK'd a $2.2 million low-interest loan for the city of Whitefish to finance a series of improvements to its wastewater treatment system.

The city also has qualified for a renewable resource grant of $100,000 and a Treasure State Endowment grant of $750,000, bringing the total project financing to more than $3 million. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Resource Development Division worked with the city on the funding package for the project.

Work on the upgrades began a couple of months ago.

One of the critical improvements is a new flocculating clarifier that removes phosphorus from treated wastewater entering the Whitefish River, reducing nutrient loads that can spur unwanted algae growth and impact aquatic life.

"The current clarifier is more than 20 years old and showing a good deal of wear," Whitefish Public Works Director John Wilson said.

"We're building a second new clarifier, and when it's done we'll take the other one off-line and repair it. This will give us a first-rate backup system to go with the new clarifier."

Another upgrade includes construction of a new building to house an automated rotary screen pretreatment system.

In addition to handling more volume, the new system will eliminate the need for manual operation, a potentially hazardous undertaking for workers, according to Wilson.

The new components should be operational by June 2009.