DEQ should deny Lakeside water district's discharge permit

As someone living near the planned groundwater discharge site one mile north of Flathead Lake and just downstream from the Kalispell City Wastewater Treatment Facility, I am deeply concerned about the risks posed by Lakeside County Water and Sewer District's proposal to discharge partially treated septic and sewage wastewater into this shallow groundwater.

My family and I live and have a private well between these two potential contamination sources. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has standards for limiting “nutrients” (nitrogen and phosphorous) but an alarming concern for my family’s health, not for the many other contaminants that wastewater treatment processes do not remove, including PFAS and pharmaceuticals. 

Another key issue is the discrepancy in DEQ’s lower standards for Lakeside's permit compared to Kalispell's. 

Kalispell, with its advanced treatment system, is held to stricter standards, while Lakeside's less sophisticated proposal faces far less scrutiny. This inconsistency is troubling and raises serious concerns about DEQ's oversight, fairness and commitment to due process in protecting our water quality. 

The Rapid Infiltration Basins system and low level of pretreatment, which Lakeside presents as a solution, risks contaminating our drinking water and harming our ecosystem. Adding a septage receiving station just 1 mile north of Flathead Lake, which would accept waste from across the Flathead Valley, only compounds the risk by introducing a significant new volume of septic waste from diverse sources which is 10 to 30 times more highly concentrated with pollutants than wastewater from a sewage treatment plant like Kalispell’s. 

Given that Flathead Lake and Ashley Creek are already impaired by high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediments, it is imperative that DEQ require more stringent testing before the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District spends around $30 million on its facility expansion. 

Recent studies by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology have shown interaction between the deep and shallow aquifers in the valley, challenging previous beliefs that the deep aquifer is confined and impervious to impacts on the shallow aquifer. There are many nearby residents with shallow wells, and the plan does not adequately consider the impacts on their drinking water. 

This is simply the wrong place for a system that relies on groundwater injection. DEQ must prioritize public health and the environment. The health of our rivers, streams and groundwater is critical. Once degraded, restoring these waters could take decades, even generations. 

We cannot risk our water quality. Our community deserves the highest water quality protection standards. DEQ is still accepting public comments on this proposal until Feb. 10. Email them at DEQWPBPublicComment@mt.gov 

Jennifer Tipton is a resident of the Lower Valley area.