Water Policy Interim Committee
Hydrologists, climatologists, and other water experts and users are paying close attention to one question: How much water will get stored away in the state’s snowpack and soil this winter. This math can be spelled out in an equation (see above.) This natural storage is “delta S.”
Snowpack, of course, releases
A 12-year-old research program created by the Montana Legislature continues to discover the complexities of Montana’s groundwater aquifers. From the Flathead River valley to Four Corners near Bozeman, that work continues, as a specially appointed steering committee weighs projects for a next round of research.
In spite of cooler fall weather, Montana’s drought continue to be severe. More than two-thirds of the state is considered to be in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought status.
But does a drought mean water rights holders increasingly seek enforcement and protection of their rights? Data and observations are mixed.
As a
Some Montana wildfires don’t go out until they burn out. Or until the fire experiences a “season-ending weather event.” In the northern Rocky Mountains, this has been defined as 1/2 inch of rain over a 3-day period.
Crown Mountain fire, Oct. 2021
The 2021 Montana Code Annotated (MCA) is available online. Published by the Montana Legislative Services Division, these are all the laws passed by the 2021 Legislature integrated into all previous laws that were not altered last session. The web version of the MCA contains the full statute text and
The 2021 Legislative Session is in the books. Now you can read them. Posted online this week are the Session Laws. These are the bills that survived both chambers and the governor’s office. The 2021 Montana Code Annotated will drop in December. (These are all the laws of Montana,
The warmest June and July on record. Nearly 2,300 wildfires, burning nearly 1 percent of the state landmass. Lowest hay yield since 1935 and the worst barley yield since 1900. Record-low water reservoirs. One-third fewer cattle roaming on parched rangeland.
The summer drought of 2021 was memorably miserable, echoing past droughts
These days, stories of the New Deal are relegated to the history books to describe the herculean efforts aimed at lifting American out of the worst of hard times during the Great Depression. But one idea lives on in every corner of Montana and across most of the country: The
Most Montana cities have rescinded water restrictions, after mid-month rains provided relief for their water treatment plants. As part of their general oversight duties, the Water Policy Interim Committee is tracking how cities and towns are coping with the state’s deep drought.
Four of Montana’s seven major cities instituted water restrictions
Montana’s drought–and likely its wildfires–are expected to worsen, state officials told members of the Water Policy Interim Committee recently.
WPIC began its 2021-22 interim on July 14-15, adopting a work plan that includes studies of water quality standards for selenium in Lake Koocanusa and erosion in the lower Flathead
