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Golden Valley water system debate continues after public concerns over pressure and discoloration; variance request continued
Summary
Kent Hague, owner of the Creek Meadows/Golden Valley development, asked the Meade County Planning Board on Feb. 3 to accept state review of the subdivision’s existing water system and to allow up to 192 service connections, but the board continued the variance after residents raised concerns about low pressure, discolored water and tank maintenance.
Kent Hague, owner of the Creek Meadows/Golden Valley development, and his consulting engineer asked the Meade County Planning Board on Feb. 3 to accept state review of the subdivision’s existing Golden Valley Water Company system rather than require the county’s design-standard storage upgrades and to allow up to 192 connections on the current system.
The request drew extensive public comment and technical back-and-forth at the meeting, where county staff, the developer’s engineer and multiple residents all described infrastructure and safety concerns. The board did not decide the variance; members voted to continue the item to the April meeting and set a March 17 deadline for any additional materials the applicant will submit.
Why it matters: The question affects how many homes the existing well-and-tanks system can serve before the developer must install larger, higher-cost infrastructure (a Madison well and additional storage), and it has direct safety and reliability implications for current customers who have reported low pressure and discolored water.
What presenters said: Hague said the existing well pumps into three underground storage tanks and that the system already supplies booster pumps that together can deliver 300 gallons per minute. Anthony Theodoro of Benesch Engineering described the permitted well yield as “0.267 CFS, which is 120 gallons per minute,” and explained the system design and the engineering basis the developer is using to estimate population served.
Residents and the Golden Valley Homeowners Association urged caution. “When the power goes out, I have no water coming out of the taps at my house,” Golden Valley resident Brandy Conway told the board, describing times when service failed during outages. Ned Keeler, another resident, asked the board to “reinforce the generator, the backup generator system,” noting the system’s dependence on electric power for booster pumps.
Operational concerns raised at the meeting included recurring reports of discolored water, the need for more frequent flushing of dead-end lines, whether the underground tanks have been cleaned and whether access for maintenance exists, and the absence of a state approval letter for water extensions in the Planning Board record. Benesch’s Theodoro said the operator had been running the pump at a conservative setting and that higher pump rates and increased flushing would reduce discoloration, and he described a plan to add a backup generator for the booster station.
Board action and next steps: Rather than granting or denying the variance, the board voted to continue the item to the April meeting. The board set a March 17 deadline for additional materials the developer and engineer will provide (including, per staff requests, documentation of any DANR review/approval, engineering details on booster/generator installation and a clearer master-plan/ phasing timeline). The chair said if the materials are not supplied or the developer cannot meet the commitments, the board may recommend denial at a later hearing.
Background and context: County staff and several board members referenced prior meetings and written recommendations asking for a master plan, drainage studies, and clear documentation of how utilities and fire protection will be phased. North Haines Volunteer Fire Department provided written guidance on fire-flow expectations; the engineer said the system’s booster pumps can meet the department’s minimum 250 gallons-per-minute requirement when the boosters operate together.
What residents asked the developer to do: multiple residents urged immediate steps to reduce the reliability and water-quality problems they experience — including installing the backup generator, cleaning and providing access to the underground tanks, increasing scheduled flushing, and providing test/monitoring records — before any larger buildout is permitted.
The board left the item open with a direction to the applicant to deliver the requested engineering and regulatory documents by March 17 so staff and the board can review them before the April meeting.
