City council discusses Fresno Dam and St. Mary's projects

Havre City Council discussed matters regarding Fresno Dam and St. Mary's Diversion and Water Conveyance projects during its monthly meeting Monday in Havre City Hall, and to review other items on the agenda.

Following roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance, Resolution No. 3895 to Adopt a Custodial Fund for the Historic Preservation Commission was approved.

Noah Schagunn and Aubree Erickson were recommended and approved as probationary police officers for the Havre Police Department.

St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group and Fresno Dam project updates were presented by Dave Peterson.

Built in 1939 on the Milk River in north-central Montana, the 84-year-old Fresno embankment dam has experienced 7 to 10 feet of settlement since construction and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has deemed it necessary to shore up and improve the structure to prevent any failure.

BOR representatives have said that there is no immediate threat of failure, however, between considerable settlement and cracks forming in the structure such a risk will eventually develop and they want to get ahead of that problem.

Peterson said Monday that the Tailwater Fishing Access Site below Fresno Dam will be closed throughout the construction project to ensure public safety. There will be access to the river along the north side of the dam, and all other fishing sites will remain open for public use during the project.

Any work that requires full road closure across the dam is scheduled for fall of 2024, with notice given 30 days in advance of closure. This project is estimated to take three years, resulting in a cost of $77 million, for which $11.5 million will be the responsibility of the stakeholders.

Work on the St. Mary's Diversion and Conveyance Works, that diverts water from the St. Mary River off the northeastern edge of Glacier National Park into the Milk River, has been in the planning stages for more than two decades and now is moving forward.

Peterson said that the new rock ramp and retaining wall for the St. Mary's Diversion Dam Replacement project will be constructed intermittently during the low river flows. This will be completed without the use of the cofferdam and the dewatering system.

The St. Mary's Canal Modernization project is currently ongoing and is needed due to existing system inadequacies and possible risk of infrastructure failure. The purpose is to improve agricultural water management as well as the benefits it provides for city water in Havre, Chinook and Harlem and recreation in the river and reservoirs.

In addition, funding legislation provides $275 million in mitigation funds for three Milk River projects, which include the St. Mary's Unit, the Fresno Dam and Reservoir, as well as the Dodson Pumping Unit.

Approval of Independence Bank pledged securities and October claims and manual warrants were passed.

The next city council meeting will be held Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.