State brings water plan proposal to Hi-Line

A proposed plan to manage water in Montana is coming to Havre next week, with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation bringing the Montana State Water Plan for a meeting to collect comments Oct. 15.

DNRC’s Water Management Bureau Chief Paul Azevedo said in a press release that the Montana State Water Plan is the result of the work of regional Basin Advisory councils and hundreds of citizens in Montana’s four major river basins, the Clark Fork Kootenai, Upper Missouri, Lower Missouri and Yellowstone.

“The plan identifies the most critical water issues facing Montana and makes recommendations on how we as a state can address them,” Azevedo said. “The finished plan will be presented to the 2015 Montana Legislature.”

The Havre meeting is one of three set in the Lower Missouri River Basin, with a meeting in Roundup set for Oct. 14 and one in Glasgow Oct. 16.

Public comment on the plan is being accepted through Oct. 26. People also can submit written comments by visiting the DNRC Web site at http://www.dnrc.mt.gov. An online comment form and a copy of the draft plan can be found there.

The DNRC release says the plan was drafted after dozens of public meetings, hundreds of submitted comments, and input from “the most diverse group of water users and stakeholders ever assembled to address water resource issues. … The Montana State Water Plan provides guidance for the conservation and management of water resources in Montana for the next 20 years.”

The summary of the plan says its implementation will allow the state to:

• Finalize the adjudication of all water rights in the state of Montana, an effort that began in 1973;

• Be better prepared to manage water in real-time to adjust to seasonal changes in supply and demand as well as prepare for longer term climatic changes;

• Be better able to protect existing and senior water right holders while continuing to improve the state’s ability to allocate water to meet new demands;

• Be better prepared to endure droughts in watersheds across the state;

• Be able to supply water to serve the needs of a growing population and thriving economy as well as the natural systems, habitats, and species that Montana is renowned for; and

• Have a public that better understands the dynamics of water supply and the water rights system they rely upon every day.

The recommendations of the draft plan are broken down into different water management issues such as water supply and demand; water use administration; and ecological and environmental issues. It presents short-term, medium-term and long-term recommendations in each breakdown.

Comments also can be mailed to DNRC – Water Resources Division, Water Management Bureau. PO Box 201601, Helena, MT 59620-1601. Comments submitted by mail must be posted marked no later than Oct. 26 to be considered.