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MTFP - West Yellowstone’s overworked sewer plant

The small town demands big-town infrastructure, but its wastewater treatment plant is often overworked and overloaded, an issue that has seeped into multiple corners of the town and added to its housing woes

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    MTFP - West Yellowstone’s overworked sewer plant
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    Read the article at the Montana Free Press by Victoria Evis
    excerpt:
    “To fix the problem, the town plans to transition from a lagoon system — which consists of pools northwest of town that treat wastewater — to a mechanical plant more common in Montana’s bigger towns.
    In order to accommodate the overtaxed wastewater system, the town council last year imposed a sewer hook-up moratorium, which in practice means nearly no new buildings can be constructed.
    And with no significant amount of new housing being built, the town is struggling to hire vital workers, town manager Dan Walker explained. West Yellowstone has a “serious” teacher shortage, needs more public works positions filled, and has had two 911-dispatcher positions open for over a year, he added.
    People could, in theory, live in nearby towns, but that has issues of its own.
    “You can’t make $23 an hour and live an hour away,” Walker said.
    Residents who do live in town are also feeling the effects of a wastewater system that’s working overtime. Residents’ sewer bills have increased from $15 in 2016 to what will be $30.32 in July of this year, Russell said.
    It’s been clear for a few years that the sewage system was reaching the limits of its capacity, and the pandemic made the problem even more acute”

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