(Montana Historical Society, 1939)

The state of Montana’s most important database might be the Department of Natural and Resources’ catalogue of more than 336,000 claims to water. Especially during times like the parched summer and fall of 2021, it is critically important to know who has a right to what water.

When property is bought and sold, water rights are often part of the deal. And Montana’s growth boom is providing a challenge to maintaining that water rights database.

Thanks to the work of the Water Policy Interim Committee — and the efforts of water users, real estate agents, county clerks, and others — the Montana Legislature passed Senate Bill 55 (Review process for water right ownership updates). The bill intends to clarify the ownership update process, speeding up paperwork delays and heading off errors. WPIC members intend to revisit the law next year to see if it works.

Water rights don’t always go hand-in-hand with land sales. Montana law provides for a variety of ways to transfer water, from sales to leases to water markets or water banks. For example, the Grass Valley French Ditch Company offers water for sale east of Missoula to be used to mitigate the development of new water resources elsewhere in the highly appropriated basin, and a Washington state-based company, Western Water Market, is a clearinghouse for sales across the West.

Montana is expected to experience a changing climate — a decline of mountain snowpack, early snowmelt and runoff, reduced late-summer water in certain watersheds, and increased groundwater demands. Because of this, water markets may play an increasing role in future water supplies.