Council approves submission of preliminary engineering report for South Whitefish water storage, mains

Whitefish — The City Council voted May 20 to approve and submit a preliminary engineering report (PER) to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality that outlines alternatives to address potable water storage, emergency flow deficiencies in the south end of town, and the removal of aging cast‑iron mains.

Public Works staff presented the PER prepared with AE2S and recommended “Alternative 3,” a plan that would construct a new booster station to isolate the southern main from the northern zone, build a new 1,000,000‑gallon elevated storage tank on the city‑owned shop property on Eighteenth Street, and construct an upgraded 16‑inch transmission main to feed the distribution system. Staff said Alternative 3 addresses the three core concerns — storage, emergency flow and cast‑iron main replacement — while other alternatives either failed to address all needs or created undesirable operational issues such as excessive water age.

Costs and funding Public Works presented a range of construction‑cost estimates across all alternatives from $0 for a do‑nothing alternative up to about $26.1 million for the most extensive option. Staff said the city intends to pursue Montana State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing for the permitted drinking‑water project and would combine SRF loan funding with city cash where needed.

Public health and infrastructure notes Staff noted cast‑iron mains include older joint materials historically sealed with lead rope; the city conducts lead and copper sampling at required sites under the Safe Drinking Water Act and reported no lead or copper exceedances in recent sampling. Staff emphasized the PER is required for SRF funding and must include a summary of existing conditions, evaluated alternatives, cost estimates and the recommended plan.

Council action and next steps The council voted to approve the PER for submittal to the Montana DEQ; the vote approved the PER itself and did not pick a final construction alternative for immediate contract authorization. Public Works and AE2S will submit the PER to DEQ and staff said the PER will support future SRF funding applications and additional design and permitting steps. The city will continue annual cast‑iron main replacement work as part of capital planning.

Quote “Alternative 3 is the recommended project,” Public Works staff said when describing the plan that addresses storage, emergency flow and cast‑iron removal.

The council’s approval allows staff to proceed with the state funding process; the council did not approve final construction contracts at the May 20 meeting.