Tester Secures $350,000 for Wastewater Systems Improvements in Sanders County

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides funding for Plains Wastewater System

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that Sanders County will receive $350,000 to improve flood protection for the Plains Wastewater Treatment Facility along the bank of the Clark Fork River.

“Whether it’s for our crops, our livestock, or our families, clean water is critical to Montana’s frontier communities,” said Tester. “This investment will help Plains improve conditions for small business owners, farmers, and families, protecting clean water and their pocket books.”

The funding will be used to install a 250 foot-long, 53 foot-deep steel sheet pile erosion barrier wall approximately 60 feet inland from the existing river channel, as well as construct a buried 18 foot-deep matrix of riprap and root balls along the river side of the sheet piling. It will also provide funds to remove existing and failing riprap, reshape the bank, reclaim disturbed construction areas, and revegetate riparian-suitable shrubs, trees, and ground cover.

Tester has worked diligently to supply Montana water systems with funding to stay up-to-date. He recently secured more than $6 million to update water and wastewater disposal infrastructure in Simms, Broadview, and Absaroke, and he secured an additional $2 million to make upgrades to Geraldine’s water system.