City presents water and sewer risks, proposes PERs and rate studies in preliminary budget hearing

City staff told the Columbia Falls City Council during a preliminary budget public hearing that the city’s water and sewer enterprises are operating at comparatively low rates but face aging infrastructure, flat revenues since 2018 and near-term costs that will require planning and likely rate adjustments. A city finance presenter said certified tax values show roughly $3.3 million of new growth this year and that the city will calculate mill levies in coming weeks. “The city’s water for the public is a low-cost, high-quality system. We do no treatment of our water,” the presenter said, adding the system benefits from raw-source quality but has aging transmission infrastructure that may require replacement in the next decade. Staff said a second storage tank or added redundancy on the main transmission line near the reservoir will likely be an $8 million–$10 million project in the coming decade; the city plans preliminary engineering reports (PERs) for water and sewer to identify options and timing. The city said an upcoming RAISE grant-funded project will replace substantial water mains on Thirteenth and Fourth avenues; about half of that RAISE-funded effort will address mains that serve a majority of the city’s connections. Near-term, staff outlined several additional costs: a water-rate study priced at $30,565 and an ongoing water-system public-relations contract of $120,000; an unexpected Horine well repair that required replacement of a variable-frequency drive and motor at roughly $55,000; a proposed sewer PER budgeted at $125,000 and a sewer rate study estimated at $27,000. Staff said water metered sales flattened about $700,000 after 2018 and that plant-investment fees (PIFs) and bulk-water sales have declined, contributing to stable but not growing enterprise revenue. “With the level water metered sales as well as the PIFs going down, that’s why we flatten out at the total revenue,” the presenter said. On wastewater, the public works presenter said the municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges to the Flathead River under state permit requirements and that the city is working to maintain compliance while modernizing the plant. The city is completing a roughly $5 million project to modernize a bioreactor and expects final commissioning work in the coming months. The council heard that county landfill policy changes will raise disposal costs for biosolids by about 3 percent per year over five years; staff estimated that change could increase biosolids expenditures from roughly $33,000 to $48,000 over five years, depending on load characteristics. Staff also said the county pilot is moving toward requiring a moisture-content test on biosolids loads and a new 18 percent moisture threshold (currently about 15 percent), which may require polymer additions and holding loads for 24 hours, complicating winter storage and adding equipment and labor costs. Staff recommended proceeding with PERs and rate studies and said they will return to the council in the spring with engineering reports and options for funding and rates. No council vote or rate change occurred at the hearing; the public hearing portion was held open for comment and further review. Councilors and residents asked clarifying questions during the hearing; staff said they will bring back more detailed PER results and rate options before any rate adjustment. Key figures mentioned at the hearing: $8–$10 million (potential new storage/transmission redundancy), $10,000,000 (RAISE-related water-main replacement project), $5,000,000 (wastewater bioreactor modernization), $125,000 (sewer PER), $30,565 (water rate study), $27,000 (sewer rate study), and a $55,000 unexpected Horine well repair.