Water levels dropping at Milk River following Montana crisis

By Medicine Hat News on July 23, 2024.

@MedicineHatNews

River levels in the Town of Milk River are 85 per cent lower than a month ago when a vital irrigation siphon in Montana collapsed in June.

That has prompted the town in deep southern Alberta, as well as towns in northeast Montana that access the Milk River, to enact water restrictions.

The U.S. Bureau of reclamation has access to US$32 million in federal emergency funding to repair the waterworks, but that work may not be complete until late next year.

The flow at Milk River townsite was recorded at 0.5 cubic metres per second (equal to 500 litres) on Monday morning, compared to an average flow of about 17 cubic metres at this time of year estimated by Alberta Environment.

That structure diverts water to the river from the St. Mary’s under an agreement between Canada and the U.S. for rivers that cross the international boundary, and in the case of the Milk, returns to Montana.

The Alberta town operates reservoirs that can provide six months of supply, but officials note “consumption is higher than what is going into storage” in a bulletin describing “Level 2 water restrictions.”

That allows only alternate day lawn care, a ban on car washing and restricted bulk water sales to essential domestic or agricultural use only.

Downstream, a notice from the City of Havre, Mont. late last week states its water treatment plant “cannot produce enough water to meet the demands of non-essential water use during hot and dry drought conditions.”

“(Which are) expected to worsen along the Milk River Basin with the water supply constraints of the St. Mary Diversion siphon failure until the end of 2025.

The ban on “non-essential water use” forbids watering lawns, filling swimming pools, or washing of hard surfaces like driveways or sidewalks to bolster water pressure in the system for drinking water, fire suppression and sanitation.

“The City of Havre water supply is at risk of losing pressure if non-essential water use continues,” reads a notice.

Montana state officials say the Milk provides drinking water for about 14,000 residents and 18,000 farm producers in the state’s “Hi-Line” counties that border southeast Alberta. Water flow supports at 120,000 acres of irrigated land in Montana.

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