Water Rights Support, Cascade County, MT

Sovereign assisted in a response to a deficiency letter from MT DNRC regarding a water right application for a water supply well. The original application, completed on behalf of an agricultural client, was developed by Sovereign staff in the spring of 2012. In the application were results and analysis of a 72-hour pumping test conducted at the supply well and groundwater modeling results evaluating impacts to other wells in the area.

The groundwater modeling conducted for the original application was expanded to address concerns raised in the State’s deficiency letter. In particular, the State requested additional analyses to show that pumping the new well would not impact springs in the Great Falls area. Additional groundwater modeling was combined with groundwater isotope analyses and an expanded evaluation of water levels from existing wells in the region to show the springs would not be impacted. The revised analyses were accepted by the MT DNRC and the application was sent to public notice.

Key project elements:

• Well design, rehabilitation, and aquifer testing

• Groundwater and solute transport modeling

• Groundwater-surface water interaction studies

• Groundwater availability evaluations and resource protection

• Water rights and water use permitting