Kalispell subdivision street waterlogged
Jim Shirtliff looks on as a school bus drives through a flooded portion of Buttercup Loop in South Kalispell on Monday morning.
A road that’s been flooding for two weeks has drawn the attention of the city.
Kalispell Public Works employees on Monday began tackling flooding on Buttercup Loop in The Willows subdivision in the southeast portion of the city east of Willow Glen Drive. The flooding is a public safety issue and warrants the city’s attention.
A number of Buttercup Loop residents have had pumps brought in to pump out their crawl spaces.
George Sprottle said he spent $6,000 to bring in a sump pump, and is working with an insurance company. Sprottle said the clog is caused by a buildup of silt and ice. The water was at a depth of 11 inches, he said.
The city responded with two vacuum trucks on Monday, but the water they drew out was quickly replaced with more water.
City Manager Jane Howington said the employees will be back at it today looking for a manhole.
Resident Jim Shirtliff called it “Buttercup Lake.” He said some 10 to 15 residences have been affected by the flooding of crawl spaces.
The city blocked off part of the street to cars Monday.
Resident Paul Lebert said it’s the first time in 11 years that his crawl space flooded. Phase II to the subdivision contains the affected area. It was built after he moved there in March 2000, he said. Lebert lives on the corner of Buttercup Loop and Honeysuckle Lane.
He said he notified the city on Presidents Day and was told that the city would wait for the ice to thaw out.
Teenagers “were driving through” the water over the weekend and splashed water on houses, Lebert said.
City Water Superintendent Susie Turner said the city planned on “sucking out the catch basins and the underground piping” and cleaning them out with jet spray.
Though Sprottle said he doesn’t remember there being a homeowners association, Howington noted that when the city annexed The Willows from the county, a condition of approval was that the homeowners association was responsible for the storm sewer.
“It was built on top of a swamp,” Howington said. “French drains were installed but they’re not being used.”
Doug Denmark, who marketed the development for American Land and Development, said the annexation was “an interesting situation. The city [council] argued over annexing.”
Calling it a “weird case,” Denmark said the developers requested a connection to city sewer and water and the city required them to be annexed as part of the agreement.