Makepeace presents technical team proposals
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POLSON — Summarizing the technical team’s work at the Reserve Water Rights Compact Commission negotiating session held March 16 at the KwaTaqNuk Resort, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal hydrologist Seth Makepeace said the team has brought the technical work near to culmination. These concepts are well thought out, Makepeace said, but are working ideas.
Regarding replacement water from the Flathead River System, the CSK tribes will have the right to divert 229,000 acre-feet of water from that system.
An acre-foot of water, Makepeace explained, is the equivalent water of one acre of land covered by one foot of water.
Of 229,000 acre-feet, 128,000 acre-feet can be consumptively used.
The initial 229,000 acre-feet will include 90,000 acre-feet of water from Hungry Horse Reservoir, approximately four feet of elevation in the Hungry Horse facility.
The tribes have strongly advocated the priority date would be 1855, Makepeace noted, a very senior priority date in the basin.
All this information is available on the Montana Reserved Water Right Compact Commission website at dnrc.mt.gov/nwrcc/default.asp. Then click on CKST negotiations on the left hand side of the page about half way down. When the page comes up, scroll to the bottom of the page entitled Hungry Horse.
One primary consideration, Makepeace noted, is during 15 percent of the very driest years when the amount of water taken would be modified. The state and federal teams are reviewing this, and all the teams are working cooperatively on the dry year flow.
Another issue Makepeace touched on was in-stream flows. The in-stream flows have a time immemorial water right.
The CSKT proposals have been submitted to the state and federal teams for review. Makepeace said, “We are looking at a window of time where we will try to execute the technical reviews by the early summer.”
Makepeace added that this is one of the cornerstones of the compact.
The next negotiation session will be April 17 at the KwaTaqNuk Resort.
