MISSOULA \u2014 Following a warm, dry spring and early summer that hammered the winter snowpack, Montana\u2019s rivers are already showing signs of stress with two months of summer to go.<\/p>\n
On the first day of July, the Blackfoot Challenge said in a news release<\/a> that it was preparing for another bad summer of record-low water levels in the Blackfoot River drainage. The Blackfoot Challenge Drought Committee has already taken some steps to prepare water users for the worst and encourage them to conserve water.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blackfoot River is the lifeblood for the people, wildlife and economy of the Blackfoot watershed,\u201d said Blackfoot Challenge Executive Director Seth Wilson. \u201cIn coordinating drought response for the last 25 years, we recognize the hardship that extreme drought creates for people who depend on the land and water resources. The Blackfoot Challenge is here to support our communities through a particularly challenging time as we pull together to ensure a resilient future for the river, for agriculture and for rural communities.\u201d<\/p>\n In the winter of 2023-2024, the snow that fell in the Blackfoot River watershed was significantly below average, which caused the Blackfoot Valley to enter exceptional drought by late July 2024. By the end of the summer, it had produced the worst drought conditions that the Blackfoot had seen in several decades, according to the Blackfoot Challenge. Last summer, the Blackfoot Challenge Drought Committee initiated voluntary water conservation measures on July 11, which was the earliest start in 25 years of the drought plan.<\/p>\n This year, more snow fell in the mountains around the Blackfoot Valley, but it melted out too early, leaving the valley in much the same condition as last year. As a result, the river started low in the spring and has continued to drop. As of Wednesday, the gage near Bonner was measuring a streamflow of 839 cubic feet per second, well below the median flow of 2,420 cfs for July 2. The lowest reading for July 2 is 602 cfs measured in 1977, according to U.S. Geological Survey data<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Blackfoot Drought Response Plan encourages \u201cshared sacrifice for shared benefit\u201d with the goal that all water users \u2013 agricultural users and recreationalists alike \u2014 voluntarily agree to take actions that will result in water savings and help fish during critical low flow periods. Over the past 25 years, nearly 90 irrigators have participated in the effort to have an equitable distribution of water during low-flow summers.<\/p>\n This year, there\u2019s an additional detail to consider: the enforcement of the Milltown water right for instream flow. When the Milltown Dam was removed in 2008, the 1904 water right went to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to protect instream flow for fish in the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers. But the 2015 CSKT Water Compact allowed for a decade of adjustment before the water right would be enforced<\/a>.<\/p>\n This year, it kicks in, so Blackfoot water users may need to conserve a bit more. To compensate, the Blackfoot Challenge revised its drought response plan and is doing more outreach with agricultural producers and recreationalists to increase participation. That\u2019s going to put more stress on producers like Potomac rancher Denny Iverson, who\u2019s watched his land get drier and who already had to reduce the size of his herd by 15% last year because he can\u2019t harvest enough hay. Last summer, he was already worried<\/a> about a second consecutive year of deep drought.<\/p>\n Watch related coverage: Drummond meeting discusses Milltown Water Right<\/b><\/p>\n Drummond meeting discusses Milltown Water Right<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve followed this El Nino-La Nina cycle for 50 years, I guess. So when I see El Nino coming, our family prepares for that,\u201d Iverson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got good water rights. But a good water right is only good if there\u2019s water in the stream to fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n