Feb. 10 -- Kalispell is looking to change existing water quality standards for a portion of Ashley Creek where the city discharges treated wastewater.
Kalispell City Council on Monday will hear a report analyzing a series of water-quality tests conducted over the last decade on the lower section of the creek. Council meets for the work session at 7 p.m., Feb. 10 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.
The segment of the creek, which is described in the report as traveling from Airport Road to the mouth of Flathead River, is where the Kalispell Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges treated wastewater.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality monitors and regulates the state's waterbodies, including Ashley Creek. City staff have long been concerned about applying regional quality standards set by the state agency to the segment of Ashley Creek because meeting them has proven difficult owing to natural limitations, according to a city memo.
"Current state water quality standards classify lower Ashley Creek as impaired for nutrients, sediment and water temperature," read the report.
In collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality, the city developed a proposal for site-specific water quality criteria tailored to the lower segment of Ashley Creek. This includes maintaining dissolved oxygen concentrations above specified levels, limiting water temperature to a maximum of 77 degrees and establishing nutrient thresholds for nitrogen and phosphorus during the summer months.
"These proposed standards aim to align water quality expectations with the creek's natural characteristics and inherent limitations," read the memo.
The creek winds more than 43 miles from Ashley Lake to its confluence with the Flathead River.
The study, called the Use Attainability Analysis, was sent to the Department of Environmental Quality for review.
THE SIDEWALK and Trails Subcommittee will also meet following the Council work session to mull over potential funding options for sidewalk and trails maintenance and construction.
The subcommittee is made up of Councilors Chad Graham, Jed Fisher, Ryan Hunter and City Manager Doug Russell, who are expected to decide on a general funding plan to eventually put before Council.
Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 or junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.