Collette is a licensed engineer in Montana and Idaho.  She has been actively involved in the Montana Section of the American Water Works Association, serving on the MSAWWA board, finishing her term as Past Chair in 2018.  She participated in and chaired multiple committees, including the Education Committee, Program Committee, and Water for People Committee.  Collette recently became a member of the Montana Water Environment Association and was selected as the senior trustee for the MWEA board in 2021.  In 2019, Collette was one of 20 people chosen to be part of Class IV of the REAL Montana Program, and ultimately selected as president of her REAL Montana class.  REAL Montana stands for Resource Education and Agriculture Leadership, which is a two-year program providing in-depth training in natural resource industries and leadership. 

The most satisfying part of being a consulting engineer to Collette is the relationships she has with her clients and the help she’s able to provide their communities.  One such relationship is with the Town of Cascade.  Collette has been working with Cascade since near the start of her time at Great West and has completed two water system improvements projects and a wastewater project with the Town.  She assisted the Town in securing around $2 Million in grant funds to complete Phases 3 and 4 of their water improvements, consisting of over 13,000 feet of new pipe, three new chlorine buildings, new telemetry controls, and a new 206,000-gallon concrete water storage tank. 

The Town of Dutton is another of Great West’s long-term clients that Collette has had the pleasure of working with since early on in her career.  She has worked with the Town through three phases of water system improvements that have replaced the transmission main, improved the Town’s well pumps, piping, and pumphouse, installed new gate valves and hydrants throughout the distribution system, and provided a new 500,000-gallon glass-lined steel water storage tank.

Collette was also excited to be part of Great West’s team on the Fromberg Wastewater Improvements Project.  She managed the design phase of a new aerated lagoon system and  Submerged Attached Growth Reactor (SAGR) to facilitate BOD polishing and ammonia removal.  This project resulted in the first operational SAGR system in Montana and provides excellent treatment of the community’s wastewater.

To contact Collette or learn more about how Great West Engineering can help your community, email her at [email protected] or reach her by phone at (406) 495-6164.