DNRC HomeCentral Montana Regional Water Authority
A municipal water project providing water for Hobson, Broadview, Judith Gap, Harlowton, Ryegate, Lavina, Roundup and Melstone from the Madison Aquifer Formation.
"High quality drinking water is a given for most Montanans. We simply go to the faucet and turn it on. . . "
However, this is not a luxury in many areas of the state. The problem continues to worsen, especially in the Central Montana area, due to many years of drought. The Central Montana Regional Water Authority hopes to help communities in Central Montana that have been plagued for years by low water quality and quantity. Communities along the Musselshell River drainage have long had difficulty in obtaining reliable quantity and quality water sources. Complicated over the last five years by the drought, the City of Roundup and Musselshell County began work on a project through the Resource Conservation & Development Program in April 2001. The municipal water project will provide water for Hobson, Broadview, Judith Gap, Harlowton, Ryegate, Lavina, Roundup and Melstone from the Madison Aquifer Formation on the northeast end of the Little Belt Mountains . Musselshell County was granted a total of $500,000 in two separate grants from the Montana Coal Board to drill an exploratory test well and complete a feasibility study for a new system.
Completing a well test to determine the quantity and quality of the water found is the next step. The system hopes to deliver up to 1,200 gallons of water per minute, providing drinking water to the partner communities. Currently, many of the small communities either have no public water system with individual wells, or operate their own public water system plagued by persistent drought or water barely fit for consumption. Due to these concerns, and the ever-changing EPA and state standards, the Central Montana Regional Water Authority was greatly needed.
The Central Montana Regional Water Authority was formally established in September 2004, with a board of directors representing each community to be served on the regional system.
The group defined distinct benefits of a regional water system.
- Residents and communities will not absorb the costs of upgrading numerous smaller water facilities to keep up with water quality standards.
- A greater number of regional system users defrays the cost of individual communities upgrading their own facility.
- This system will provide jobs, not only during construction, but also for ongoing operation and maintenance.
- Total water consumption by all communities will be substantially less than if each community provides water treatment.
- A dependable, high-quality drinking water source provides an incentive for business and industry to consider relocation to Central Montana .
- An alternative water source for livestock.
The regional water system will begin near Utica and go northeast to Hobson and Moore, south to Judith Gap and Harlowton, then east to serve Ryegate, Lavina, Broadview, Melstone and Roundup. A core transmission line, extending 220 miles, will deliver water directly to these communities.
At an estimated cost of $90-100 million, the project will pursue funding from federal, state and local entities. Securing funding from these sources will enable community residents to receive clean, safe water at an affordable rate.
The Central Montana Regional Water Authority system is the most cost-effective and efficient means of providing the luxury of water quality and quantity needed in the communities served.
The Central Montana Regional Water Authority's mission is to provide quality, quantity and dependable water at a reasonable cost to the users in central Montana.
Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Chairperson: Dale Longfellow, Hobson
Vice chairperson: Tom Horan, Harlowton
Sec/Treasurer: Jim Schladweiler, Roundup
Contact information
102 Main Street
PO Box 251
Hobson , MT 59452
Phone (406) 423-5428
Fax (406) 423-5532
