Montana Water Well Drillers Association

Evaluation of Montana's Water Resources
The status of water resources in the United States varies dramatically for a variety of reasons that are predicated largely on climate, geology, and population . The availability of water is a major factor affecting the density and distribution of population, which, in turn, impacts the nature of economic growth over a variety of sectors including agriculture, power, industrial, commercial, housing, and recreation .
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Evaluation of Montana’s Water Resources
We as Montanans have a relatively abundant supply of surface water and groundwater. From a volume perspective, most water use in Montana is appropriated from surface water. More recently, there has been an increasing demand for groundwater for a variety of purposes including agriculture, municipal, and private water supplies. However, the amount of consumptive groundwater use for municipal and private water supplies is presently very small when compared to the availability of water resources in Montana’s watersheds.
Evaluation of Montana’s Water Resources ES

Part 3: GROUNDWATER VITAL TO MONTANA’S ECONOMY
As explained in Parts 1 and 2, there is an abundance of unused groundwater in Montana. Most of this groundwater is not connected immediately or directly to any surface water.

Montana must sensibly manage our natural resources in order to maintain economic growth in this state. Groundwater development has always been the key to our economic sustainability. The two mainstays of Montana’s economy are the traditional agriculture accompanied with the surge of modern home building. Without groundwater these driving forces will quickly diminish or die.
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Part 2: Ground Water Not Connected to Surface
As stated in Part1, there is an Abundance of Unused Ground Water in Montana. A large portion of Montana’s ground water resources are found in confined or semi-confined aquifers that are not directly connected to surface water!

The DNRC has presented a simplified view of underground water that does not correspond with reality. Their position is that underground water exists completely in one giant barrel with surface water in direct contact with all aquifers. This is far from the truth and not based on solid science.
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Part 1: A Vast Potential Resource
The good news is that Montana has an abundance of ground water. According to the USGS Montana residents use 188 million gallons of ground water per day – which is less than 2% of the total water usage. This 188 million gallons per day is so small that Giant Springs in Great Falls, one of Montana’s hundreds of springs, leaks over 200 million gallons of water per day.

In comparison, other states use more ground water and a much larger percentage compared to surface water. For example:
• Montana: 188 million gallons per day – which is 2% of surface use
• Wyoming: 541 million gallons per day – which is 14% of surface use
• South Dakota: 222 million gallons per day – which is 72% of surface use
• Oregon: 993 million gallons per day – which is 17% of surface use.
• Idaho: 4 billion gallons per day – which is 27% of surface use.
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