Plains receives drinking water study grant

The Town of Plains received a state grant to hire an engineering firm to determine the vulnerability of the town’s wells.

Plains received $15,000 from the Montana Department of Commerce through the Treasure State Endowment Program (TSEP) two weeks ago for the purpose of completing a water system preliminary engineering report, said Mayor Dan Rowan, who added they will be looking into finding out if there is any danger of contamination or vulnerability to the town wells. He said the water system report was prompted partly by the salt contamination of individuals’ wells by the Montana Department of Transportation north of the town limits earlier this year.

Plains was one of a dozen communities to receive TSEP grants, which ranged from $7,500 to $15,000, totaling more than $167,000. According to a Department of Commerce press release, this is the third round of TSEP planning grants awarded this year. The grants now total over $690,000. Ten communities received the highest amount possible, according to the Department of Commerce. Rowan said it was a matching grant and the town had to come up with the other $15,000. He said they also received a non-matching grant of $8,500 from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which will also be used to fund the study.

“We haven’t yet had any problems with our water, but we want to have an alternative source if this aquifer has a high risk,” said Rowan, who believes the grant money will cover the cost of the study. Plans are to request a proposition from engineering firms to do the study, which would determine any potential or real problems, provide possible solutions, and give a cost analysis. In addition, the mayor said he would like to have electronic map done that shows where all the town’s pipes, valves and meters are located. The study might also look at a growth plan and how it would impact the drinking water infrastructure. He said he hopes the study could be started early next year and be completed by the late spring or early summer.

Plains has two wells – one on Fifth Avenue South and one on Fourth Street. Rowan said the town used to utilize the Boehler Springs, located along Highway 28, but the town stopped using it more than 10 years ago after the state said it could not be used because it was not protected from contamination, either by wildlife, cattle or humans. A federal study only a month ago found that the Boehler Springs water to be good and could be used if protected, something Rowan said he’d like to look into.

Although the town has had no major problems with the drinking water, a resident’s well on the northern edge of town tested high for nitrates, possibly from fertilizer, as did another individual well more north outside the town limits.

The town drinking water for its 600 resident and business hookups is constantly tested by the Public Works Department to ensure it is safe, said Rowan. For several years, the town has been replacing the old galvanized pipes, which can only be done when the weather is warm. Rowan estimated there are about 375 more pipes to be replaced.

“Plains has good water and we want to make sure it stays that way,” he said.