By Josh Margolis
HELENA, Mont. (NMB) – Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director John Tubbs joined the Montana’s Legislative Finance Committee’s online meeting on Friday to discuss plans to replace Drops 2 and 5 of the St. Mary Canal.
This comes after the catastrophic failure of Drop 5 last month cut off the flow of water from the St. Mary to the Milk River, which provides water to much of the Hi-Line.
Although Drop 5 has already collapsed, Drop 2 is in precarious shape, which is why it needs to also be repaired this summer.
Tubbs says Sletten Construction has already begun preliminary work on the project that is estimated to cost $8 million.
“This is one of those things that we have to get it running by the end of this water year, which is October 1st, if we are to have any hope for next year.”
Tubbs also said in a best-case scenario, repairs could be completed by early September.
Tubbs says that if the federal government determine that the St. Mary Canal’s failure qualifies as something in need of “emergency, extraordinary maintenance,” the cost sharing agreement for the repairs will be shifted to 52 percent on the federal government, and 48 percent on irrigation stakeholders.
This is a significantly decreased share for irrigation districts, as the cost share for St. Mary’s Canal has been 74 percent on irrigators and 26 percent on the federal government.
Tubbs says they are working on the assumption that this would be approved as extraordinary maintenance by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
This leaves about $3.85 million of the project to be covered by irrigation stakeholders, although Tubbs said Montana may step in to help provide some of those funds.
Tubbs also said that Hi-Line residents won’t have to worry about losing drinking water, as long as repairs are made by spring 2021.
“There is enough storage in Fresno to ensure drinking water supplies throughout the next year. That is by reserving over 18,000 acre feet of Fresno water for municipal use throughout the winter.”
