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Water, sewer and treatment projects highlight budget workshop as staff outline costs and infrastructure needs
Summary
City staff outlined water and sewer capital needs — including meter replacements, well repairs, treatment-plant rehabilitations and increased electricity costs — and requested continued approval to proceed with planning, grants and selected capital purchases.
Kalispell staff presented a detailed review of water, sewer and related utility capital and operating needs at the budget workshop, telling the council that several planned and emergent projects will affect maintenance budgets and future rate planning.
Staff noted an anticipated 41% increase in electricity costs for water operations and described several capital items: a proposed new water-operator position to support expanding facilities; an ongoing meter-replacement program targeting roughly 1,200 meter replacements per year (about 55% complete to date); a near-term $250,000 motor replacement at the Buffalo Hill well; planned fermenter rehabilitation and equalization-basin work at the wastewater plant; and upgrades to screens and secondary clarifiers to control algal growth. Staff also flagged an anticipated future cost of about $200,000 related to treatment-unit media disposal after grant-funded initial rounds end and said that some equipment purchases remain grant-funded for now.
Staff said the city will continue pursuing grant funding and will bring consultant support to complete a facility plan and an impact-fee study while sequencing construction to align with developer activity and growth. Councilmembers and staff discussed prioritization across projects, contingencies for construction cost inflation, and coordination with development-driven demand for new water and sewer capacity.
On service delivery, staff reported that remote meter upgrades allow earlier leak detection — staff cited an instance where a new meter detected a roughly 5,000-gallon leak that older meters would likely have missed — and staff said meter data have already helped prevent larger losses. The wastewater treatment plant work includes repairing and rehabbing fermenter tanks, installing improved inflow screens, and addressing algae accumulation in secondary clarifiers. Other capital priorities mentioned included sewer-main replacements, lift-station upgrades and stormwater work connected to development needs.
Council did not adopt new utility rates at the workshop; staff sought council direction to proceed with facility planning, meter replacement, and grant-funded purchases and to return with impact-fee and capital-sequencing recommendations for later council consideration.
