Watchdog: Holland Lake Lodge sewage tank too small, may leak
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) After learning that a Holland Lake Lodge sewage holding tank is far smaller than previously claimed, some public land watchdogs are upping their opposition to Missoula County’s decision to grant a variance.
On Thursday, after learning new information, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies joined Save Holland Lake in insisting that the Missoula City-County Board of Health rescind the health-code variance it granted to Holland Lake Lodge for a wastewater holding tank.
On March 4, Save Holland Lake had sent an initial letter to the Board of Health protesting the variance based on the fact that Missoula Public Health staff didn’t know several details about the decades-old holding tank. Staff didn’t know the size or condition of the tank, and most importantly, they didn’t know if it was water-tight.
In a second letter sent to the Board of Health on Thursday, the two groups said they’d learned that Kyle Crapster, Missoula County environmental health specialist, had assessed the tank in the first week of March. Crapster estimated that the tank holds approximately 2,353 gallons total, which is far less than the claim of 5,000 gallons made by Holland Lake Lodge.
However, Crapster’s assessment also indicates the sewer pipe enters the tank at a low point such that the working capacity of the tank is only 670 gallons. Once the amount of waste exceeds that, it can start backing into the inlet pipe.
“These figures further establish that reliance on the existing tank is infeasible, and (Missoula Public Health) must consider alternatives, including those outlined in the March 4 letter,” the March 19 letter said.
In its March 4 letter, Save Holland Lake calculated that the typical sewage flows would be 3,650 gallons a day, based upon an occupancy of 50 guests and 20 employees. If, as advertised on its website, the Lodge hosts a wedding with 200 guests, the tank would fill even faster, although the county authorized the use of chemical toilets as a backup. That means the tank would have to be pumped twice a day at a minimum and five times a day to keep waste from topping the inlet pipe.
That assumes that the tank is water-tight, which it may not be. The storage tank with its crumbling concrete is more than 50 years old and is buried less than 100 feet from the lake and 175 feet from a public water supply. If it leaks, the sewage could contaminate the groundwater and ultimately Holland Lake.
The tank was pumped in October, although it’s unknown whether it was pumped completely dry. But when Crapster did his assessment in early March, he estimated that 22 inches or 388 gallons of liquid was in the tank. Save Holland Lake member Dave Roberts said that was similar to what he observed in February, so he has no doubt the tank is leaking.
“These developments affirm the concerns raised by Save Holland Lake, Save Holland Lake member Dave Roberts, the Alliance, and other citizens before and after the Board approved the variance. They also affirm that key factual assumptions underlying the Board’s decision were incorrect, incomplete, and unsupported,” the March 19 letter said.
The Board of Health is requiring Holland Lake Lodge owner Eric Jacobsen to conduct a two-part test to demonstrate that the tank is watertight. Health department staff will be present during critical parts of the test. Save Holland Lake has asked to be notified when the test will take place but said it has received no response.
Save Holland Lake and Alliance for the Wild Rockies again asked the Board of Health to rescind the variance and reconsider it once all the information is available and other alternatives are considered. Save Holland Lake also asserts that leak tests designed for modern septic tanks may not be sufficient to detect a leak in an old concrete storage tank. So they request that the test duration be increased from 24 hours to at least 48 hours.
Jacobsen can’t use the tank if it fails the leak test, but the Board of Health won’t void the variance, Missoula City-County Health Board Director Shannon Therriault told the Current in a March 10 email. Jacobsen would have to get a new storage tank and have it inspected by the county and the Department of Environmental Quality prior to installation. If Jacobsen wanted to propose a different alternative, he could request an amendment to the variance.
Jacobsen is having to find a sewage alternative for this summer because the lining of wastewater lagoons that served Holland Lake Lodge and Holland Lake Campground were poorly maintained, so they’ve been leaking human waste into the groundwater for decades. The lagoons were discontinued until they could be rebuilt, which is planned for this summer. But that leaves Jacobsen unable to open this year unless he can find an alternative for managing the Lodge’s waste.
During the February Board meeting, Save Holland Lake proposed one alternative: pump the wastewater to the existing 8,000-gallon septic tanks on the hill above the Lodge. Therriault reportedly already mentioned this option to Jacobsen. But since the waste would still flow through the storage tank, Jacobsen would still need to replace the tank if it’s leaking. Or he could remove the tank and install piping and an enclosed pump to move the sewage up the hill.
The catch with that proposal is the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to repair the wastewater lagoons on the hill this summer. But it also has plans to enlarge them to five times their current capacity, which would require removal of the septic tanks. Save Holland Lake questions why taxpayers have to pay to enlarge the lagoons if Jacobsen has said he doesn’t intend to expand the Lodge. If the lagoons are simply repaired, the septic tanks could remain.
“No matter what, (the old tank) shouldn’t be used as a holding tank. The piping is all wrong for a holding tank. It means the waste is basically backing up into the sewer mains to the lodge and the cabins, which means they’re likely to clog. It’s something they’re going to have to replace and why he doesn’t just replace it, I don’t know. But it’s money out of his pocket, as opposed to the lagoons, which the Forest Service owns,” Roberts said. ““I tried to tell (Jacobsen) before he closed (on the lodge). If you’re going to take care of the lake, it’s going to take a six-figure fix.”