Bigfork stormwater system geared to be a hot topic at state conference

Construction, funding, design and analysis of Bigfork’s stormwater system are all part of the discussion at this year’s 2012 Montana Storm Water Conference.

This year’s conference, Weathering the Storm: Strategies and Solutions for Managing Storm Water, started Tuesday and runs through Thursday at Kalispell’s Hilton Garden Inn.

On Tuesday, Mike Kopal of the Whitefish Lake Institute presented his portion of the Bigfork stormwater project, pre- and post-construction water quality sampling design and analysis.

Kopal’s sampling design was recently approved by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for use in testing post-construction samples of Bigfork’s stormwater.

Post-construction water testing in Bigfork won’t start until Flathead County commissioners approve one of the two engineering firm proposals that are currently on the table.

Thursday marks a field trip day for conference members that will end with a walking tour of Bigfork’s stormwater system.

Chair of the Bigfork Stormwater Advisory Committee, Susan Hanson, will be one of the leaders of the tour. It will start with some of Bigfork’s suburban areas that were adversely affected by flooding and erosion issues as a result of inadequate stormwater management.

Field trip participants will also examine the $1.3 million system that was installed over the last three years. This includes the hydrodynamic separators, the Imbrium Jellyfish filtering system and Filterra units along Electric Avenue and Grand Drive.

Hydrodynamic separators use the way water flows to remove pollutants that float (trash, debris and oil) from those that settle (sediment). Jellyfish systems have a membrane filter in them that is designed to remove dissolved pollutants, such as nitrogen, from stormwater as it flows through the filter. Filterra units use plants and soil to filter stormwater.

Copies of the sample analysis of pre-construction water testing for pollutants will also be provided.

The focus of the field trip is to visit sites that could be used to compare natural ways of catching and filtering pollutants from runoff along bodies of water with engineered ways.

Also included on the field trip day will be trips to Seabaugh Farm, at the conjunction of the Stillwater and Lower Flathead Rivers, and Weaver Slough.