歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� An important process designed to protect the future quality of Lake Bemidji is underway.

Northern Township is embarking on a wastewater project to connect around 400 homes on or near the north shore of the lake to a centralized treatment plant. The plan is to build and operate a mechanical treatment plant east of the lake, north of the Mississippi River outlet.

An immense amount of deliberation and study has gone into the plan.

Over many years, Bemidji State University has conducted a great deal of research that enhances our understanding of Lake Bemidji, including both environmental and social science. cites findings on how lake quality positively affects property values and other economic indicators.

Having worked for over 30 years on multi-disciplinary studies with BSU colleagues, I gained a perspective on significant research dating back as far as 60 years. I鈥檇 like to put the current project in the context of efforts over many decades.

Trends in the quality of Lake Bemidji were very troubling for decades leading up to the 1970s. Locals and visitors alike observed that Lake Bemidji was getting murkier, smellier and weedier with more frequent algal blooms.

Science revealed the lake was aging unnaturally and becoming more eutrophic 鈥� the result of overfertilization, which causes a lake to lose dissolved oxygen from excess nutrients, killing natural aquatic life.

Old-timers described unpleasant 鈥� to downright grotesque 鈥� experiences on the water by the inlet. After heavy rains, fluids and solids would spill out of the outdated and ineffective sewage settling ponds.

I鈥檒l leave it to your imagination.

Suffice it to say that this was unacceptable to enough people that there was pressure to do something different. Unfortunately, the mindset back then 鈥� before a better environmental ethic became prevalent 鈥� was 鈥渄ilution is the solution to pollution鈥� and 鈥渙ut of sight, out of mind."

Our community鈥檚 initial action was not to improve treatment and discharge cleaner wastewater. Instead, steps were taken to pipe it around the south end of the lake to the river outlet. We sent our problem to those living downstream.

Researchers from BSU and elsewhere found that the problems of overfertilization worsened in the river east of the lake, in Stump Lake and down to the Leech Lake Nation's tribal boundaries. The north end of Big Wolf Lake where the river flows was so overgrown with weeds that it was 鈥渢oo thick to navigate, but too thin to walk on.鈥� This was not a proud period of environmental responsibility for our community.

Bemidji got notoriety as 鈥渢he first polluter on the Mississippi.鈥�

A legal challenge by those downstream led to a judge鈥檚 ruling that we could not pipe our effluent downstream. It didn鈥檛 mandate that we improve our treatment; rather, whatever nutrient pollution occurred had to come out by Paul and Babe. Having to suffer the consequences gave us incentives to solve the problem.

Bemidji was not unique during this period in struggling to treat sewage properly. In fact, it was such a common problem that the federal funded cost sharing to help struggling communities protect water. Proper treatment serves the public interest, so it should be affordable for all cities, not just wealthy ones.

Our community鈥檚 protection of Lake Bemidji transformed into a matter of pride over the ensuing years. Bemidji, with the use of federal and state funding, built a modern sewage treatment plant that has won various awards.

In addition to BSU studies on the treatment plant, research was conducted on runoff that flows through storm sewers and around the lake. Flows from around two dozen storm sewer pipes were monitored, showing potentially damaging discharge coming out of the pipes that drain into downtown and the neighborhoods north of BSU's campus.

In response, community groups and state representatives worked together to build the stormwater retention ponds you see today near Paul and Babe, Diamond Point and Cameron Park. As reductions in flows from discharge pipes 鈥� known as point-source pollution 鈥� were achieved, attention in the 1990s turned to the remaining pollution from sources of nutrient runoff, or non-point source pollution.

Further community collaboration built upon the lessons learned in the 1990s about non-point source pollution. Studies demonstrated that failing septic systems and fertilizer runoff were loading too much nitrogen and phosphorus into groundwater and surface water across the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Leaky septic systems were so problematic that a lucrative business to provide aerial photos of shorelines across northern Minnesota developed. Plumes of leakage from septic systems were revealed by patches of unnatural weed growth protruding from the shores.

BSU directed research on septic systems to ensure that lakes weren鈥檛 getting excess nutrient loading. Seepage into groundwater from septic systems also emerged as a public health concern where wells provided drinking water.

Spanning these decades, public officials and community leaders implemented countywide efforts to protect area lakes. One early project was called the Beltrami Lakes Study. Along with subsequent BSU research, it revealed substantial support among most citizens to solve the problem of leaky septic systems. The support extended to helping businesses that might need financial assistance to invest in upgrading their systems.

Difficult social dynamics were also revealed through this research. Some households expressed concerns about making expensive improvements to their septic systems only to see lake quality degraded by nutrients from households and businesses that were out of compliance.

Other fairness concerns were evident.

Shouldn鈥檛 those who recently invested in their septic systems have a long grace period before they have to connect to a centralized treatment plant? Shouldn鈥檛 they pay lower assessments and connection fees than those who have been out of compliance for decades?

Those community efforts also identified an eventual risk to water quality from the septic systems around the north shore of Lake Bemidji. It was merely a matter of time before septic systems attached to aging cabins and bigger houses squeezed onto small lake lots would jeopardize the lake.

A community vision then advocated overbuilding a city treatment plant to prepare for future growth.

Northern Township鈥檚 action to provide centralized treatment means that day has come.

It is noteworthy that the first option Northern Township pursued was connecting to the Bemidji plant. It has excess capacity that could treat Northern Township houses as well as neighborhoods within Bemidji not already connected. It also has ample capacity to accommodate growth south and west of town.

Initial discussions in 2021 鈥� when the Joint Powers Board existed 鈥� moved toward connecting key households in Northern Township to the existing plant. But the discussions between Northern Township and the city broke off. From the macro view, it makes sense to connect to the existing city plant rather than build a second plant east of the lake. It would save millions of dollars to only build connecting pipes to avoid building a new plant. A unified campaign for funding from both jurisdictions could raise more outside funds so we can get more bang for the buck locally.

Perhaps the devil is in the details as to why the two jurisdictions couldn鈥檛 find a solution everyone would be happy with.

But Lake Bemidji is precious enough to our community to ask whether those obstacles still exist. If they do, it is in our community鈥檚 interest to know the reasons that a collaborative approach is not viable.

This retrospective shows we have made great strides in protecting our namesake lake, Bemijigamaag. Hopefully, our improvements over the last 50 years will carry forward in a spirit of stewardship for the next 50 years.

Past community visioning exercises have highlighted the incredible natural endowment we have in the form of the isthmus between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji. Historical factors unfolded so that the treatment plant occupies much of that unique setting. As that plant ages further, in a generation or two, could we replace it with a plant away from the lakes? Imagine the attractive gem that residents and visitors could enjoy if that area was reclaimed as public green space.

Our community will benefit from reaching the best possible consensus on connecting households on the north end of the lake to a centralized treatment system. Our decisions today will have tremendous implications for the future quality of Lake Bemidji and our region.

Northern Township is pursuing a long-term plan focused on the common good. Engaging the broader community in that long-term pursuit of the public interest behooves us all.

What legacy will we leave?

We have a great opportunity to learn more about Northern Township鈥檚 wastewater project with an informational session set for 7 p.m. on Earth Day, April 22, in BSU鈥檚 Beaux Arts Ballroom.

For those looking to learn more about the Northern Township wastewater treatment facility, a wealth of reference material is available on the Northern Township website 鈥� see the