Speak up to protect lake water quality

The “pay more, what for?” questions abound as the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District has teamed up with Flathead County on septage treatment and Discovery Land on water and sewer.  

I have attended the water and sewer district board meetings fairly regularly. The meeting agendas and minutes do not include copies of items to be acted upon by the directors. I can attest to the absence of publicly available budget reports, audits, information about current service capacity and available future capacity, etc.  

In addition to getting county ARPA funds with strings attached for septage treatment; the district recently approved bonding underwritten by the Montana State Revolving Fund, signed a contract to apply to DNRC for well and water rights on behalf of the Discovery Land development, and seeks a major rate increase. The supporting financial underpinnings of these agreements are unclear and what information there is, must be requested.  

In other words, it is the duty of the public to ask for what it doesn’t know.

Started by upper west shore residents in the 1980s to address the problem of often primitive septic systems along the often-rocky shoreline of Flathead Lake, the water and sewer district in recent decades has come to serve Somers and inland development with its “first generation” wastewater treatment ponds in the lower Flathead Valley just north of Montana 82. At least 10 lift stations convey waste to the treatment plant. The proposed expansion of this facility has not been fully permitted and its sensitive location at the head of Flathead Lake raises very serious water quality issues.

The district board of directors should defer action on any rate increase until it can provide the ratepayers and the public with adequate information on its financial and budgetary commitments and plans.

Maggie Davis lives in Lakeside.