Libby's water systems declining rapidly

Libby’s water infrastructure is crumbling. In the past two weeks, six separate leaks have erupted from the city’s aging water mains, requiring crews to work overtime to patch the pipes and stem the flood of thousands of gallons of treated water onto the ground.

Libby is not alone. The Montana section of the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Montana a C- grade for drinking-water infrastructure in its 2014 report card. Butte has a four-person “leak gang” that works six days per week repairing leaks in its aging pipe system.

The American Water Works Association recently estimated that replacing America’s outdated infrastructure and preparing for future growth would cost more than $1 trillion in the next two decades. That number grows substantially if current problems are ignored and more time is spent repairing than replacing and improving existing pipes.

The City of Libby currently maintains approximately 39 miles of pipe under the city, most of it built in the 1940s and 1950s. City Administrator Jim Hammons said approximately 1,700 households and businesses are served by the system.

A 2011 leak survey reported 44,640 gallons of water lost per day due to leakage. According to information provided to The Western News, the average Libby water consumer uses approximately 3,000 gallons per month.

Libby’s resources are stretched with repairs and maintenance. City Clerk Glena Hook said the city’s budget for this fiscal year, ending June 30, 2015, allows $198,000 for repair and maintenance of the system. Now, just five months into the fiscal year, “a little more than $100,000 of that has already been spent.”

The city’s water infrastructure was acquired from Pacific Power and Light in 1986. A new water filtration plant was required by federal mandate, which was completed in 1998. The facility has the capacity to treat up to 4 million gallons of water per day.

A number of other factors have also contributed to Libby’s infrastructure concerns. In 2010, the Flower Creek Dam was deemed unsafe and in need of replacement by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Water flowing through the dam is Libby’s primary source of potable water.

Other municipalities have the option to drill wells for water, which is out of the question for Libby. The city’s underground aquifer is contaminated with creosote as a result of chemical use at the old International Paper plant.

A lawsuit between the city and International Paper was settled in 2010, and the city received a payment of $1.2 million as well as annual payments of $250,000. Those payments are set to renew every 10 years until such time as the aquifer is cleaned. One of the stipulations of that settlement is a prohibition on wells within the 1986 city limits.

Hammons expressed his frustration with the current situation. “We give away billions of dollars in foreign aid, but our infrastructure is crumbling,” he said. “It makes me mad.”

Hammons said he understands the frustration being expressed by residents about the rate increase, but there isn’t much to be done about it.  The Libby City Council just approved a rate increase that is estimated to increase the average customer’s monthly bill by roughly 50 percent, depending upon usage.

County Commissioner-elect Mark Peck echoed similar concerns. “The commission needs to explore what the county can do to help,” Peck said. “I don’t know if there are any avenues for this, but we need to see what we can help with.”

The city has borrowed $3.7 million and received an additional $4.7 million in grants to replace the dilapidated dam. That loan necessitated an increase in city water rates in order to service the new debt, angering a number of city residents. Any additional capital projects would require even further borrowing, which would precipitate additional rate increases.

Recent projects funded by grants and loans require the city to set aside fixed amounts each year for maintenance and repair, but those requirements were not in place when the city acquired the system in 1986. According to Hook, previous city councils and administrations did not make adequate plans for future needs.

“They could have tried to set money aside, but they didn’t,” she said.

 The city has made a number of improvements in recent years. Based upon an engineering report and a leak survey completed in 2011, several new water meters and fire hydrants were installed in 2013. Five new pressure-reducing valves were also installed in 2013, which helped separate the city into two pressure zones and eased the overall distribution burden. Additionally, a section of water main between 3rd and 4th streets was replaced at a cost of $73,665.

The city’s capital improvement plan, completed in 2011, states “all mains have an estimated 50-year design life. The city should budget to replace their entire system every 50 years. Therefore, the city should budget to replace 2 percent of the water mains annually. However, Hook said the city doesn’t have a budget for any additional capital improvements beyond the dam project and the attached pieces.

The primary issue is funding. City residents expressed a great deal of anger when the city council voted to increase rates earlier this month and warned that replacing the old lines will likely result in more rate hikes to cover the cost.

Libby’s crumbling infrastructure, like that of the rest of the state and nation, raises more questions than answers. One thing is clear: The problem is very real and gets worse with every passing day.

“Right now,” Peck said, “it’s like we’re putting bubble gum on a bursting dam. There has to be a better way.”