Report: Homes on E. Lakeshore should connect to city sewer

A new report says a large swath of properties along East Lakeshore Drive should connect to city sewer to keep pollution out of Whitefish Lake.

Aging septic systems in the area at homes primarily along the lake from Monks Bay to Les Mason State Park should be abandoned in favor of hooking into the city system, according to a report issued by Carver Engineering. Though not on the lakeshore, properties in Alpine Village are also recommended for connection.

Research from Whitefish Lake Institute has confirmed aging septic systems in neighborhoods around Whitefish Lake as sources of groundwater contamination impacting the lake. While the lake is considered safe, WLI has said action is needed to prevent the lake from sliding beyond what’s described as the “tipping point.”

Carver Engineering of Kalispell created the preliminary engineering report for the Whitefish County Water and Sewer District to investigate and propose remedies for the septic leachate issues. A community forum was held late last month at City Hall to discuss the findings.

There are about 110 homes that are part of the study area. A few homes in that area along the lake, in particular those at Houston Point, are already connected to city services.

Tom Cowan, engineer with Carver Engineering, said that there are two types of septic tank failures — above ground that puts sewage into a house or on a yard, and underground failures that put sewage into the groundwater or surface water. He pointed out that some of the septic systems in the study area have been there since the 1930s, but failures aren’t being recognized because the soil conditions in the area are sending the contamination to the lake.

“All the groundwater from Big Mountain flows down,” he said. “There’s very little surface drainage that happens past East Lakeshore Drive. There is no defined drainage toward the lake so all the drainage goes underground.”

“On its path it collects everything,” he added of the groundwater. “If there’s contaminated soils from septic systems it gets flushed to the lake.”

The study shows that 281 million gallons of water flows through the area from Big Mountain to the lake.

Cowan said studies in the 1970s and 1980s had the same results, and the Whitefish Lake Institute in 2012 didn’t find as high of levels in that area compared to other parts of the lake because the pollution is being diluted in the high volume of water draining into the lake.

“All of these studies are finding nutrient loading in the lake,” he said.

Cowan pointed to Alpine Village subdivision as a particular area of concern within the study area. Alpine Village includes properties on Nordic Loop, Poplar Place and Alpine Court, north of East Lakeshore Drive. The subdivision was required by the state Department of Environmental Quality to install a sewer collection system in the 1970s, but it’s never been used and has not been connected to the city system, according to Cowan.

“We feel they are contributing more than those along the lake,” he said. “People always associate pollution with people nearest the lake and that’s not always the case.”

Carver’s report recommends extending the Whitefish city wastewater system to serve all the homes in the plan area as the preferred alternative to address the septic leachate issues.

Capital costs to connect the area to city service is estimated at about $3 million with an annual operating and maintenance costs of $164,000. That pencils out to user costs of about $94 per month if grant funding is obtained, up to $111 without grants. In addition, homeowners would still pay costs for city sewer services of about $110 per month.

“It was pretty clear to go with the alternative to connect to city sewer because it’s the better alternative,” Andy Hyde, engineer at Carver Engineering, said. “Nothing will happen unless property owners decide to move ahead — there’s not a mandate to do this.”

A questionnaire sent out to the roughly 100 homeowners regarding the septic leachate only garnered a 23 percent response rate. Of those that responded, the preference was to do nothing as a group, but let each property owner replace their septic system if and when it fails.

There were only about a half dozen people who attended the open house meeting at City Hall.

Cowan said the area is more conducive to groups of homeowners working together to connect rather than the whole study area.

“I don’t envision the whole community forming together and creating one system,” he said. “It’s too divided. We need to get people interested in doing it.”

Whitefish Lake Institute is continuing to work on its efforts around the whole lake to bring neighborhoods together for solutions and seek grants to help fund the projects that would connect to city services.

“We’re dealing with a big issue,” Mike Koopal, WLI executive director, said. “We have a long ways to go to galvanize people, but this will determine how we leave the lake for future generations.”

Science and Education Director Lori Curtis said WLI is looking to restructure its outreach campaign regarding septic leachate contamination in the lake.

“We made a decision that we need to move toward better educating the community and getting the word out,” she said. “We need people to understand the issues and consider the options — the lake is too important.”

In 2016 a similar report was issued for homes on Lion Mountain saying they too should connect to city sewer to prevent septic leachate from entering the lake and possibly contaminating their groundwater system.

Cowan said the study area on East Lakeshore Drive is even more concerning than the findings for Lion Mountain.

“There’s more documentation that wastewater is getting into the lake [at East Lakeshore Drive],” Cowan said. “There’s a direct association [there.]”