Due to community opposition for the Marks Ranch test well site at the Oct. 27 meeting, the Clancy Water and Sewer District (CWSD) has requested that Great West Engineering identify other possible sites.
“This was due to the local opposition from outside CWSD and the likelihood of Water Right application objections causing unacceptable expenses and time delays,” said District president David Leitheiser in an email where he also states his support for the change in the test well site. “The opposition was based chiefly on the well site having too many unknown potential adverse impacts to their water wells, water distribution systems, and Water Rights; I concurred…,” he wrote.
The test well is part of an ongoing project by the CWSD to build a central well system to address contaminants in some
Clancy wells. A 2017 Montana Tech survey revealed elevated levels of nitrates and uranium in the drinking water which pose health hazards to the community. The original proposed test well site was on Clancy School property, but rejected by the Clancy School Board of Trustees. Marks Ranch was the second option due to being, “the most cost-effective storage site alternative analyzed,” according to the 2018 Treasure State Endowment Program grant application.
The third option, as identified in the TSEP grant application, is Montana state land, likely south of Clancy. While this site, at the moment, has no stated community opposition, David Donohue, a hydrologist working with Hydrosolutions and in conjunction with Great West Engineering, said during the meeting that “we have limited data down there … it didn’t have the information we could use to help direct the location of a well.”
Donohue also said there are areas worth looking at to potentially identify a location for a well on the state land, based on bedrock fractures and drainage, but the area would need to be walked as the study was based on aerial photos and existing public information. The CWSD would also need to be granted permission by the State of Montana.
Based on the objections of Leithieser, Red Cliff Estates, as well as neighboring landowners, Charles “Chuck” Notbohm and Bruce Nevins, the board requested that Great West Engineering begin looking at alternative sites that would not face such staunch opposition. “It’s a time sink,” Leitheiser said, referring to the potential for litigation that might cause a drag out the project for years should a site foment continued public opposition.
