HILL COUNTY — The Milk River provides water to 18,000 people all across the Hi-Line. North of Havre, parts of it have run dry.
Before the St Marys and Sherburne Canal were created, the Milk River always ran dry. It was a problem in the late 1800s early 1900s and now, the issue has returned.
“I’ve been along the Milk River for 72 years,” said Mark Peterson, Hill County Commission Chair. “This is the first time that I’ve seen it totally dry.”
With the St Marys siphon bursting back in June, there is no water to flow into the Milk River, leaving the future up in the air for Hi-Line residents.
“The reason this is so critical right now is we’re very, very dependent on spring runoff next year to put any water into the Fresno Dam at all,” Peterson said.
Without the water, supplementing water from places like the Beaver Creek Dam becomes the only solution. The issue is that this is not a long-term solution.
“At this point, we have to look at virtually no irrigation coming out of Fresno Dam for next summer,” Peterson said.
This causes huge costs for cattle farmers, who would have to haul water, and irrigators alike.
“They’re done irrigating for the year and unless we get snow and spring runoff, they’re virtually done irrigating for next year,” Peterson said.
What can be done to help? Peterson says contacting elected officials asking for help, and helping state and country officials understand that this is something where the majority of funding cannot be put on the irrigators themselves.
“The thing that is probably most important, that the public support this project in any way, shape, or form that they can,” Peterson said.
While there are infrastructure issues that can be helped with money, a lot of the future of this area is going to depend on the weather throughout the remainder of this year and even into next year, causing many worried people to have to simply sit back and see what happens.
