14 Months of Unresolved Sewer Odor Triple Creek Pump House by Jesse MooreJudi Funk
From: Jesse Moore <jessemichaelmoore@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2026 9:07 AM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment; Aimee Brunckhorst; Ryan Hunter
Subject: EXTERNAL Public Comment: 14 Months of Unresolved Sewer Odor, 135 Triple Creek
Drive Pump House
Attachments: email-to-kalispell-mayor-council.pdf
[NOTICE: This message includes an attachment -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you
know the content is safe.]
Dear Mayor Hunter and Members of the Kalispell City Council,
My name is Jesse Moore and I live at 125 Triple Creek Drive, directly north of the city's wastewater pump
house at 135 Triple Creek Drive. I am writing to ask for your help resolving a persistent sewer odor from
that facility that has now gone unresolved for approximately 14 months.
My family has lived at this address since 2019. For our first five -plus years here, the pump house was
never a problem. That changed in the spring of 2025, shortly after city crews performed maintenance
work on the facility. Since then, a strong sewer odor, worst in warm weather and in the evenings, has
regularly forced us out of our own yard and has been noticed by neighbors from their homes as well.
I want to be clear that Public Works staff, particularly Utility Superintendent Matt Bean and David
Maddalone, have been responsive and have tried numerous fixes. I appreciate their efforts. But after
more than a year of attempts, the odor remains, which is why I am escalating this to you. A brief history,
documented in my email correspondence with the city:
• May 27, 2025: 1 filed my first formal written complaint with the Public Works Department, after
earlier attempts to report the issue.
• June 1-2, 2025: Follow-up complaint; Matt Bean visited, sealed exposed conduit pipes, and said
the exhaust filter would be replaced.
• June 18, 2025: Odor persisted; I reported an unsealed manhole as a possible source.
• July 13-15, 2025: Odor worsened, noticeable from neighboring homes. City ordered new filter
media and committed to installing it as a "top priority" upon arrival.
• August 18-28, 2025: Odor still present. City announced changes to the filter system and piping,
including a taller vent pipe with a carbon filter.
• September 11-15, 2025: Excavation for that work caused significant erosion and sloughing onto
my property before being backfilled.
• October 9-20, 2025: Odor continued. A temporary 16-18 foot vent stack was installed with plans
for a fan.
• November 4, 2025: Vent stack shortened; temporary improvement.
• December 14-26, 2025: Odor returned during a mild spell in December, months away from
summer heat. A fan was installed December 16, but the odor was stronger with the fan running; a
fan speed adjustment on December 23 made no noticeable difference.
• April 2026: The vent stack was relocated. Some improvement initially, but by April 19 the odor was
as bad as before the relocation.
• May 21 and June 11, 2026: 1 reported the odor again as severe. On June 11 1 wrote that the odor
was "really bad tonight" and asked what further mitigation plans exist, stating plainly that I want
this resolved.
July 19, 2026: 1 reported that the smell has been significantly worse in the evenings over the
preceding couple of weeks, noted this has now been an issue for over a year, and asked whether
crews could come out and find another solution. As of this writing, I have not received a response,
and the problem continues.
That is over a year of documented complaints, at least seven different attempted fixes, and no lasting
resolution. The pattern strongly suggests the current filtration approach is not adequate for this facility,
and the situation likely needs an engineering -level assessment rather than further incremental
adjustments.
One point deserves emphasis: the odor is consistently worst in the evenings and after hours, when
Public Works staff are no longer on site. I do not know why, whether it is heat, time of day, or how the
system cycles, but it means the times city staff have checked and detected no odor do not reflect what
we experience. I would welcome an evening site visit so staff can experience what my family and
neighbors deal with regularly.
I would also ask the city to consider a basic question. Looking at other wastewater pump houses around
the valley, ours appears to be the only one with a separate filter installation sticking out of the ground
next to the building. Is a filter like this even needed here, or is the filter itself part of the problem?
I respectfully request that the Council and Mayor's office:
1. Direct a formal engineering evaluation of the pump house odor control system to identify a
permanent solution;
2. Provide me and affected neighbors a written plan and timeline for that solution; and
3. See that this matter is addressed promptly. After 14 months, my family and neighbors would
greatly appreciate a resolution.
The following neighbors join me in supporting these requests:
• Luke and Terrin Marino, 134 Triple Creek Drive
• Jim Meyers, 126 Triple Creek Drive
• Alexa Wells, 118 Triple Creek Drive
• Kara Erickson and Mike Clark, 115 Triple Creek Drive
Thank you for your attention to this. My family simply wants to be able to use our home and yard again
the way we did from 2019 to 2024.
Sincerely,
Jesse Moore
125 Triple Creek Drive, Kalispell, MT
406-407-6230
iessemichaelmooreCa)gmail.com