Havre council's Water and Sewer Committee hears concerns

The Havre City Council Water and Sewer Committee met Thursday, primarily to discuss a number of concerns brought to them by local business owner Cody Miles.

While most of the meeting was spent addressing Miles’ concerns, another member of the public, who did not give his name, talked about a recent rise in city water rates, which he said is really difficult for him because he’s on a fixed income.

Committee member Sarah McKinney said she understands his concern as well as that of others on fixed incomes who are always hit the hardest by inflation and rate increases.

Havre Mayor Doug Kaercher said the recent rate increase was higher than it would normally have been, but that was mainly because they skipped the last increase because of the pandemic.

The only other speaker at the meeting urged the committee to listen to Miles and left without giving her name.

Miles’ primary complaint was that he said the city was shorting him on water at the city’s bulk water station, saying based on his calculations every 285 gallons of water he is under by 12 gallons.

He presented photos of his water being weighed on a scale, which he said is what he made his calculations based off of, calling it “hard proof.”

Havre Public Works Deputy Director Jeff Jensen said the city has repeatedly tested the bulk station’s output and every reading they’ve gotten back indicates that people are getting slightly more than they pay for.

Jensen said there are any number of variables that could affect the calculations Miles made and he believes the equipment being used by the city is accurate.

Miles said many people feel the same way that he does and are complaining about it.

Public Works Director Dave Peterson said Miles is the only one he’s heard make that claim.

Miles said that is not true.

After some argument, the committee suggested that a third party examine the matter.

Peterson said he believes the city is already doing their due diligence.

McKinney asked Miles if he would reach out to the people he says are complaining and have them talk to the committee or present their own evidence of this happening to them.

Miles refused that request.

Miles repeated his complaint about a recent price rise at the bulk water station from 75 cents per 100 gallons to $1 per 100 gallons, saying that the rate increase was unreasonable and would sting less if he wasn’t being shorted.

Havre has said that, in typical amounts used by a household on a monthly basis, city water users actually pay more than a bulk water user. That is due to the flat base rate charged with an extra charge per 1,000 gallons over 3,000.

If someone uses large amounts of water, 15,000 to 20,000 gallons, for example, a bulk water user would pay much more than a city water user for the same amount.

Concerns about chloramines

Miles also made several complaints about the city moving from chlorine to chloramine for water treatment, claiming the substance was bad for the plants he uses water for and that it damages infrastructure.

Jensen said that when the city hooks into Rocky Boy’s/North Central Regional Water System, something he and Miles agreed is necessary for Havre, they are going to have to switch to chloramines whether they like it or not anyway, and there’s not much they can do about it.

At Gardenmyths.com, 45-year gardener Robert Pavlis, whose biography says he has backgrounds in chemistry and biochemistry, said the levels of chlorine and chloramine used to treat municipal water will not harm indoor potted plants. He said a study indicated chloramine can cause browning of lettuce roots in hydroponics. But, Pavlis said, too many variables are present to conclude the chloramine causes the browning.

“Contrary to popular concerns, neither chlorine or chloramine from municipal tap water is a concern for plants, provided the World Health Organization recommendation of less than 5 ppm, is followed,” he said. “The many reports on social media of plants being harmed by chlorination are based on anecdotal information and could be the result of all kinds of issues.”

In an email Friday, Miles referred Havre Daily to what he called infrastructure damage in Washington, D.C., caused by chloramines.

Nate Weisenburger, drinking water practices leader at the engineering firm handling the regional water system, AE2S, said Friday that using chloramines can lead to increased lead levels in water, but that can be monitored and controlled, which it will be in Rocky Boy’s/North Central Montana Regional Water System and in Havre and other communities connecting to the system.

Weisenburger said water treatment has both primary disinfectants, which destroys harmful bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms to make it safe before distributing it to the public, and secondary disinfectants, which keep the water safe while it is transported from the treatment source to the consumer.

In a system which transports water for long distances, using chlorine as the secondary disinfectant allows the chlorine to react to organic material in the water and form disinfection byproducts.

He said in the time it will take to transport the water from the treatment plant at Tiber Dam to Havre, the levels of disinfectant byproducts, referred to as DPGs, could rise higher than allowed levels.

He said chloramine, formed by adding ammonia to the chlorinated water, is better at keeping DPGs at safe levels.

Chloramines have been used for decades as secondary disinfectants in water systems in many municipal water systems. Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. all use chlormanines.

Several Montana systems, including Great Falls, also use chloramines, Weisenburger said.

The lead issue arises because chloramines are less reactive to metals than chlorine, he said. Chlorinated water tends to form a layer of oxidized material in lead pipes that reduces lead leaching into the water.

When a system starts using chloramines, that layer can wear off and lead can start leaching into the water.

That appears to be one of several factors in Washington leading to higher levels of lead found in municipal water in samplings from 2000 through 2004.

Weisenburger said one way to reduce the risk is to replace lead service lines, which Havre already is in the process of doing. He said Havre has set American Rescue Plan Act funds to use to target replacing lead service lines.

At a public meeting in May about Havre’s water and sewer services, the city reported it has identified 185 lead lines it has to replace.

Weisenburger said people who don’t live in residences connected to lead lines don’t have much to worry about on this issue.

The other way to deal with the issue is to closely monitor the water in the system and to work to manage the treatment to prevent lead from getting into the drinking water.

He said Washington has done that since the problem it was having in the 2000s and has not had dangerous levels of lead since 2004.

And regulations coming from the federal government also will reduce safety concerns.

In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its new “Lead and Copper Rule,” requiring water systems to inventory lead pipes in the systems.

President Joe Biden’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan also allocates $3 billion of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act that passed last year to assist funding replacing lead pipes, although Havre already has funding for that project.

Weisenburger also said EPA is making its adjustments to its testing requirements, which go into effect in 2024, which require more and more frequent testing of water.

Weisenburger said much of that work will be in place by the time Havre is connected to the system.

The treatment plant is under construction, and Weisenburger said that could be operational by 2026.

Work on the main transmission line from Tiber Reservoir to Box Elder — the project is a result of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation Water Compact and Rocky Boy is considered the primary user — is ongoing, Weisenburger said.

Havre is one of 22 off-reservation water systems approved to connect to the regional system. The off-reservation systems stretch from Loma to the district in northern Hill County and west to Cut Bank.

Weisenburger said the line to Havre is now in the design phase.

“When the water is ready we’re trying to be ready for delivery in 2026,” he said.