Kalispell, Montana, the largest city in the Flathead Valley, is a growing, dynamic community located 30 minutes away from Glacial National Park, Flathead Lake and Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort on Big Mountain. With its snow-capped mountain peaks, crystal clear lakes and mild climate, visitors and residents take advantage of a wide variety of outdoor activities. Kalispell is the business center of the Flathead Valley and provides municipal services to over 25,000 residents in northwest Montana. Located at an elevation of 2,959 feet, Kalispell is within close proximity to a handful of national wilderness areas.

Recently, Kalispell has benefited from a population growth that can mostly be attributed to a surge of newcomers relocating from west of the Rocky Mountains. The population of the city grew 19 percent during the 1990's, and since 2000 has grown an astounding 44 percent. Even though growth has slowed around the nation, Kalispell continues to grow and attract visitors and new residents daily.

Roadblocks to Growth
The City of Kalispell's wastewater plant internal lift station was the one of the first multiple pump lift stations in the state of Montana. It was considered cutting edge technology as a way to handle wastewater. However, in 1990, an operational problem served as the impetus for a complete overhaul. City engineers were forecasting severe load increases due to Kalispell's booming population. As a result, the city called upon the expertise of regional expert, Waterworks Industries, and specifically Buck Patterson, to help trouble shoot and plan for the station's future needs and expansion.

At the time, one of the largest Gorman-Rupp pump stations in the state of Montana, upgrades to the Kalispell's internal lift station began with five Gorman-Rupp pumps, specifically Super T-Series 8" pumps, two of which were fixed speed, and three of which were variable frequency drives. Offering the same reliability and performance as T-Series technology, the Super T-Series pumps provided additional advanced design features such as external shimless adjustment, dual protection of bearings and an "easy-grip" cover plate handle. Further, due to the corrosive nature of the load, pump impellersmade of stainless steel were recommended and selected for the task. "You can get three times the wear with the stainless or hardened steel over the standard steel. The longevity of wear was well worth the investment and made a lot of sense to Kalispell," recalls Patterson. Completed in 1992, Waterworks and Gorman-Rupp engineers also oversaw installation of the controls in this early operation as well - a unique aspect of the implementation, overall.

Updating the Downside of Growth
Still, as a result of the area's 44% growth, in recent years, and overall expansion, Kalispell's infrastructure was in need of yet additional updates with regard to pumping wastewater. With the pressures of population booms and fluctuations during peak tourism seasons, not only was the wastewater operation becoming a headache for those tasked with the responsibility of day-to-day operations, but the physical components of the plant and pump station were beginning to show their age, as well. At that time, Joni Emrick, Water Resource Manager, and Curt Konecky, Plant Manager for the city of Kalispell, began to assess their options and embarked upon a plan that would continue to serve the current residents of Kalispell, while also anticipating future needs with regard to load capacity as the municipality continues to grow.