Some experts say Paradise sewer project price too high

By CHUCK BANDEL

Valley Press

With the embers of anti-sewer protest still glowing, a new development in the issue may further fan the flames of discontent in the small town of Paradise.

One of the key matters of contention in the controversial proposed sewer construction project, the $4.5 million price tag, has drawn the attention of key players from outside the area, including engineering firms across the state.

Katy French, a Paradise area resident and engineer/engineering consultant says she has recently been contacted by engineers in some of Montana’s largest cities saying the $4.5 million costs are way out of line.

Some of those who spoke with French, she said, are reluctant to have their names or firms involved for professional reasons. But all are in agreement that a far more realistic amount would be in the $2-2.5 million dollar range for the project proposed by Great West Engineering.

“The protests from Paradise regarding this project have been heard across the state thanks to articles in the media,” French said. “Because of this, a small handful of engineers from throughout the state have called me and my husband (Mark) to offer their concerns.”

French, who has been an engineer for more than 20 years, said those outside engineers have been able to access bid documents and say they are concerned with specifications for the project, assumptions concerning need and future growth. Other issues make them question the design, design costs and the very need for such a system in Paradise.

“The question before the community is not do we want a wastewater collection and treatment system, but instead, is this the system that best serves this community,” French told the Valley Press.

She said those engineers have told her stories about similar communities served by Great West Engineering projects that have gone awry, including a system that was designed and built for a town in Southwest Montana that has been plagued by a series of problems.

“The stories I’ve been told by other engineers should alarm and concern us all,” French said. “Should they be ignored or should we take time to consider these concerns?

“Should we take time to review the assumptions and criteria upon which the design is centered?”

One of the protest leaders, Paradise resident Lee Ann Overman, who has been at the forefront of demanding answers and explanations agrees with French.

“There are things going on that are just not right,” she said. “We are waiting to see the collection of documents involving this project that we have been told will be available soon.”

Overman said legal experts she has spoken with have all agreed the town’s residents have a right to know in this matter.

At a Paradise Sewer Board meeting attended by County Commissioner Carol Brooker, the commissioner assured residents those documents will be made available for all to see in the coming days.

Brooker also promised to meet one-on-one with any and all who wish to do so and listen to their concerns.

The proposed project would connect approximately 80 properties in the unincorporated town to a main sewer line that would empty into a settling pond and large underground storage and treatment facility which would be constructed on the town’s western edge.

Currently the town’s residents rely on septic systems which many say are working just fine. They are concerned with the estimated $180 yearly assessment fee they would be required to pay for the next 40 years, along with a $35 monthly fee for system use and maintenance.

The project has sparked numerous meetings and rallies for several years, with the frequency and intensity of those protests on the rise as a proposed March 2021 construction date nears.

New concerns, backed by statements from the group of engineers questioning the project, include projected flow and capacity estimates through 2039.

Without seeing the documents involved for themselves, residents like French and Overman and more than 40 who have signed an anti-sewer petition, are skeptical at best.

“Preparing for the future is good, no one is debating that,” French said. “However, what assumptions are in place to make that determination and are they realistic? We haven’t seen the documents. We don’t know.”

However, French insists, the engineers to whom she has spoken have serious concerns about the projections they have seen and the assumptions that have been drawn.

French said she and others are also concerned about the proposed site of the mostly underground treatment/storage facility. With two major rivers in the immediate vicinity and heavy rains and snow runoff in the spring, she noted, many of the fields, including the one proposed for the storage facility are regularly saturated and sometimes exhibit standing water due to the ground saturation.

“Has there been enough data collected to ensure the community that soil saturation will not inhibit system drainage?” French asks. “Will there be any backflow into or within the system? We haven’t seen the documents, we don’t know.”

That said, anti-sewer protesters are anxiously awaiting the promised release of documents as a growing number of outside experts have offered their opinions and skepticism that the proposed system will work or is needed.

And, they all agree, at what cost?