Bigfork stormwater money sought

The Daily Inter Lake

Bigfork is pushing for state grants to get a handle on stormwater runoff in the bayside community on Flathead Lake.

Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman and Bigfork Superintendent of Schools Russ Kinzer testified at the State Capitol last week in support of a Department of Environmental Quality grant that would design a stormwater collection system for Grand Avenue and enable the Bigfork School District to put in a second collection system.

Last summer the school district installed a state-of-the-art retention system at the elementary school using large pipes that collect the water and allow it to leach slowly into gravel and then soil. The second system would be built in a similar fashion.

"It would address 80 percent of the runoff from about a seven-acre area," Brenneman said.

If funded, the $150,000 grant would provide about $60,000 for the new storm-drain system on the school campus.

The rest would be used to develop a watershed restoration plan for the Bigfork project area and create final design plans for Grand Avenue.

There also would be an education and community outreach component, Brenneman said.

Treasure State Endowment Program grant money also is being sought to help fund the Bigfork stormwater project.

Brenneman said he's pushing for an $89,000 allocation that already has received approval from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation - but needs legislative funding approval - to create a countywide wastewater management group.

It would include all municipalities and sewer districts. The money would be used to hire an engineer to "explain what's in place and what to do next to treat wastewater."