U.S. Water News Online
BILLINGS -- Residents in at least seven central Montana towns are banding together to rid their tap water of sodium, minerals and other bad-tasting gunk.
Officials in Roundup, Melstone, Lavina, Broadview, Harlowton, Hobson and Judith Gap formed the Central Montana Regional Water Authority last month as a first step toward a regional water system. Ryegate and Moore have also expressed interest.
The group is considering drilling wells thousands of feet deep into a limestone formation and building 220 miles of pipeline at a cost of up to $50 million.
Although it could be up to 10 years before the project becomes a reality, officials in several towns insist it's necessary to ensure safe drinking water and keep the area growing.
"This is vital for all of us,'' said Dale Longfellow, mayor of Hobson and chairman of the new authority. "It's a matter of long-range survival for many little communities.''
Residents in Hobson still rely on individual wells for drinking water. Only about half of those produce quality water, Longfellow said.
The proposed water project will depend on deep wells tapping into reserves flowing through the porous limestone of the Madison Formation, a vast rock layer that stretches underneath central Montana.
A test well drilled last year near Utica yielded tenuous results.
Crews hit water, but had to drill deeper than they thought to get to it. And the well produced 350 gallons per minute in preliminary tests, far less than the 1,200 gallons a minute needed to serve 5,000 people under the proposed system, said Monty Sealey, coordinator of the Central Montana Resource and Development program.
Initial plans estimate three wells will be needed to produce enough water.
Because crews had to drill so much deeper for water, there is no grant money left to test for water quality and other standards. That will likely force the authority to ask for the remaining $40,000 to $50,000 from the Legislature, Sealey said.
If water quality and quantity is good enough, work will begin on designing the 220-mile-long pipeline connecting the involved communities. Feasibility and scientific questions must also be studied, and Sealey anticipates going to Congress for portions of the funding.
"People are skeptical, but until we get a certain level of information, we can't even answer the questions,'' he said. "As soon as we get more information, we'll get it out there. We want to get more people in the loop.''
If the project is rejected or does not appear feasible, the involved communities will likely have to develop water treatment systems that could cost more than a regional system, Sealey said.
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