‘We’re in really tough shape’: Milk River irrigation area shut down for summer at midnight Monday

By Medicine Hat News on June 18, 2025.

@MedicineHatNews

Irrigation in the Milk River district of Alberta has been closed for the summer, just as a major repair to river-diverting irrigation works in Montana was set to put more water into the Milk River at the end of the month.

However, the natural flow is currently is not enough to maintain enough supply for both domestic and farm use, officials tell the News.

They say that due to the water sharing agreement between the two nations, water for crops may not be restored even with repairs and heavy rain expected.

“We’re 100 per cent reliant on natural flow and we’re in year four of a multi-year drought,” said Tim Romanow, executive director of the Milk River Watershed Council, confirming that irrigation was closed at midnight on Monday.

“We’re not even seeing the flow we had last year. We’re in really tough shape.”

About 40 farms belong to a group of independent water licence holders that comprise about 7,600 acres farmland in the area close to the Montana border south of Lethbridge.

They are fed from the Milk River, which crosses back and forth between the two countries and is typically stocked with water diverted from the St. Mary’s River.

Last June, the St. Mary’s siphon irrigation works in Montana failed, but repairs worth US$50 million are nearly complete after one year and deliveries could be restored July 1.

However, water will only be diverted to the Milk until Aug. 15, at which point repair work will begin on a separate section in Montana, says Romanow.

That water can be used for domestic use in the Town of Milk River, which has some contingency plans in place.

But, the water in the river is largely apportioned to the U.S. under agreement and timing rules for taking water from the international river.

“The irrigators in Montana will be hurting as much as Alberta farmers, the difference being that that they have 140,000 acres to irrigate where we have 7,600,” said Romanow.

He said many Alberta farmers chose crops more suitable for dryland farming and took advantage of an early open to the season to begin watering ahead of schedule.

Alberta Environment forecasted this spring that flows on the river, already legendary for its relative low levels, would be the worst in 98 years of record keeping.

In eastern Montana, about 18,000 residents rely on the Milk River for drinking water

The U.S.-based Milk River Project Irrigation District provides water for about 140,000 acres of land in the Hi-Line district of Hill, Liberty and Blaine counties.

In Alberta water is prioritized for domestic use. The Town of Milk River, population 825, pumps from the river to supply homes and fill storage ponds.

Mayor Larry Leibelt told the News this week, the municipality is looking forward to the siphon replacement completion, but sees the need for backup water lines from other Alberta jurisdictions as a long-term solution.

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