Next six months could spell fate of Hungry Horse water
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POLSON — Hungry Horse Reservoir and its supply of water topped the agenda at the Water Rights negotiation held at the KwaTaqNuk Casino and Resort on June 30 at 9 p.m.
Clayton Matt, head of the CSKT Natural Resource Department, asked if supplemental water from Hungry Horse Reservoir was available for negotiation purposes.
Matt added that when the tribe put forward its proposal . . . to find a way to protect existing uses and future users, “a supplemental supply is a linchpin to this process.”
Both the United States and the Reserved Water Right Compact Commission State of Montana’s negotiating teams agreed that water from Hungry Horse Reservoir was available as a supplemental source.
Duane Mecham of the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the negotiations are at a point where all parties can proceed and more actively investigate and negotiate. Mecham said he hoped within the next six months all parties could reach at least a tentative agreement.
The breakthrough came after Mary Mellema from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation presented her preliminary study on water in the Flathead Basin. Mellema modeled two scenarios to compare to the base case, or actual state of affairs, using hydrological data from 1929 to 2008. One scenario used only the natural flow in the Flathead Basin to provide water for new tribal diversions. Another used the natural flow and added storage of 90,000 acre-feet from Hungry Horse Reservoir during the summer months.
A portion of the study indicated that without supplemental water from Hungry Horse Reservoir, there could be a shortage of water for future tribal development.
Details of the technical study will be available online soon at cskt.org or dnrc.mt.gov/rwrcc
In summary, Mellema’s report captured nearly 80 years of water data accumulated for the purpose of monitoring lake, reservoir and river levels.
Brian Marotz, Hydropower Mitigation Coordinator, from the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department spoke briefly about mitigating the effects if water were taken from Hungry Horse from April to October instead of June to September.
During the meeting, negotiating teams honored outgoing RWRCC Program Director Susan Cottingham, who is retiring at the end of July. Cottingham received thanks and compliments on her expertise, flowers and a beaded bag made by Karen Coffey.
CSKT Chair Bud Moran said, “it’s too bad everyone couldn’t work in the same place for two or three months” so the compact could be completed.
Both Montana Senators Max Baucus and John Tester sent a staff member to the meeting, as did Congressman Denny Rehberg.
The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18 at the KwaTaqNuk Resort and Casino.
