HELENA — Montana utility regulators have set potential penalties for a Helena-area subdivision they say failed to provide adequate water service – but they say they’re open to an agreement that would lead to alternatives to those fines.
(Watch the video to hear reaction to the ongoing water issues in the North Star subdivision.)
If you come to the North Star subdivision in the north Helena Valley, you’ll find homes like Danita Light’s – where residents say years of dealing with the challenges of inconsistent water have made it hard to maintain a yard.
“It's not what I wanted,” Light said. “I have four kids who would like a yard to play in, but at this point we're struggling to even keep the back functional.”
Light and her family have lived in the neighborhood for about ten years. She says, in that time, they’ve installed two yards, then lost the plants after struggling with unexpected watering restrictions.
“We knew there were going to be restrictions, but not to the level that they actually unfolded,” she said.
This summer, after the company that operates North Star’s water system announced an electrical issue took two of its five well pumps offline, residents have been required to water only two hours a day: from 4 to 5 a.m. and from 8 to 9 p.m.
“If you don't have a sprinkler system already installed, you're literally scheduling your sleep around when you can water,” said Light. “That feels unfair, and very punitive to the people who are actually following the rules.”
Over the last few years, complaints from residents in the North Star subdivision have made their way to the Montana Public Service Commission. The agency has been looking into reports of inconsistent supply and water use restrictions since 2020.
“North Star residents, I just want to make sure they know they've been heard,” said Commissioner Annie Bukacek during a PSC meeting Tuesday.
“This agency been working on this for a long time, and I really, really sympathize with the customers that have had to endure insufficient utility service for so long,” said Commissioner Jennifer Fielder.
Commissioners signed off Tuesday on their staff’s recommendation to propose preliminary fines of $86,700 against North Star Development. The largest share of that fine is based on a determination that North Star hadn’t taken enough steps to ensure adequate water supply.
“North Star failed to comply with Montana law for years and failed for years to address its water supply issues until it was essentially forced to do so either by circumstances or the Commission,” a staff memo read.
For example, North Star has pointed to residents exceeding their permitted water use as a contributing factor to the supply issues. PSC staff said making sure all subdivision residents had working water meters might have helped the company determine why they weren’t able to account for more than 1 million gallons of water a month.
“Based on the information provided by North Star, staff believes much of the disappearing water is actually water that was simply unaccounted for in the past because residences did not have functioning meters in place,” said Laura Vachowski, a PSC attorney.
The company certified to the PSC that it had installed working meters for all its customers by the start of June.
While commissioners accepted the proposed fines, they also said they understood North Star might have trouble paying those charges – and that, if they did issue a fine, that money would go into the state general fund and wouldn’t help residents at all. So, they are giving the company an option to negotiate possible “non-monetary” alternatives instead.
“We don't want to penalize you; we want better service,” said Commissioner Brad Molnar. “We want more reliability. We want to get a benefit from the amount.”
Vachowski said, if North Star agrees to come to the table, some of the other options could include requiring the company to install backup pumps, find other water sources or take other actions to ensure more reliable supply.
The PSC’s action gives North Star until Aug. 22 to request negotiations. If the company does so, they’ll have 60 days to work on a possible settlement with PSC staff. The negotiations would be confidential, though Vachowski said the final agreement would come before commissioners for approval.
Commissioners acknowledged that this decision isn’t going to mean immediate relief for residents. That means people like Light will still have to decide how to manage their yards in the meantime.
Light said she’s looking at removing the flowers and weeds remaining in her yard and installing pavers, with only small planted areas in between. Still, she said it’s hard to imagine starting over again.
“I'm struggling with the motivation and the energy and just the interest in even trying again at this point,” she said.
