No sewage in the public drinking water in Seeley Lake

SEELEY LAKE - A recent statement that residents are drinking water contaminated with raw sewage made by the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board attorney Jon Beal has raised a few eyebrows in town. Seeley Lake Water District Manager Vince Chappell contested these statements saying that there are no contaminants related to sewage in the potable drinking water for the town of Seeley Lake.

In an email to the Pathfinder, Missoula City/County Health Department Sanitarian Jim Erven agreed with Chappell. Erven said he reviewed the last two years of Water District testing and he sees no evidence of post-treatment coliform in the public water system. However, groundwater underneath the town does show contamination from septic systems.

The statements by Beal were made at the Sewer District’s special meeting Aug. 13 and at a district court hearing Aug. 14 for Don Larson’s lawsuit against the Sewer District.

At the special meeting Beal said, “The Health Department has told me there is untreated sewage in the drinking water.” During the hearing, Beal told the court that residents of Seeley Lake “are drinking water contaminated with human feces.”

Beal clarified his comments in an email to the Pathfinder citing several sources indicating that the lake is being polluted by sewage including Larson’s testimony at the court hearing. The town’s public water supply is drawn out of the lake. Beal had not seen testing results of the public water supply. He wrote that the contamination was probably diluted and treated within acceptable standards.

The Water District draws water from near the inlet of the lake, more than two miles from the southern bay where studies indicate contaminated groundwater flows. The Water District is required to do regular water testing of both the raw water taken out of the lake as well as the treated water that is being piped to town. Testing is performed for many contaminates including those that might come from septic tanks.

Chappell said that contaminates in surface water are not uncommon and can come from a variety of places including humans and animals. The Water District has a sophisticated treatment plant that treats the water for these contaminants including UV and chlorine treatments to kill any living organisms in the water.

Erven explained that the issue in Seeley Lake is with the contamination of the ground water. The fact that most of town has access to safe drinking water from the Water District does not alleviate the need to follow state environmental laws that protect ground water as well as surface water.

Lake water testing has shown low nitrate levels but that does not mean the lake is not being impacted by septic systems. Nitrate in surface water acts as a fertilizer and is rapidly used up by aquatic vegetation. The accelerated growth of aquatic vegetation can drive water temperatures up and decrease oxygen levels impacting other aquatic life. Erven said the impact could be hard to reverse if allowed to progress.

Erven said the proposed centralized sewer system is vastly superior in removing nitrates and bacteria to the onsite septic systems currently serving the community.