Freshwater Conservation

Water is arguably the most critical issue confronting us in the face of climate change. And we are looking at some difficult challenges. Will there be enough water, and will it be available when and where we need it most? How can we equitably share water with a growing number of users? How will we pay for the restoration needed to protect this vital resource? And, ultimately, how do Montanans collectively invest in overcoming these challenges across the state?

One person who has spent many years thinking about these questions is Ann Schwend, water resource planner for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. We asked her a few questions of our own.

What do you think are the major challenges to ensuring there is enough water to meet the needs of people and nature?

Montana is mostly a headwaters state, meaning we are not entirely dependent on water delivery from other states but on the precipitation that falls within our borders. Climate change is creating great uncertainty in the amount and timing of our annual water delivery.  At the same time, increased temperatures mean earlier snowmelt and longer growing seasons.  In some areas we may see additional precipitation, which could exacerbate flooding issues, while in other areas we will likely experience more intense droughts and drier streams, especially during the longer, hotter summers.  Many basins, such as the rapidly developing Missouri Headwaters region, are closed to new surface water appropriations, which means that current water allocations already exceed the amount we receive in annual precipitation.  Land use changes, such as converting irrigated fields to housing developments, can have a profound effect on the hydrology of the system.  As more people move to Montana, demands increase, while the timing and availability of supply is changing. Thus, the uncertainty of changing precipitation patterns, higher temperatures, longer growing seasons and increased demands are creating water management challenges that make it difficult to meet the continually expanding water needs of people and nature.  

There are dozens of groups, public and private, focused on water. What role do you see the state playing?

Being such a large state, Montana is fortunate to have a network of community-based organizations that are focusing on water resource issues in their watersheds. We have over 60 locally based non-profit watershed groups and 58 Conservation Districts scattered across the state.  Each of these groups provide a direct connection to their communities and have the local wisdom about their unique water challenges. They have built the respect and relationships with stakeholders that can provide the knowledge and leadership to successfully implement community focused projects. These coordinators are great team members to help the state meet our goals, through empowering local decisions and control.  However, most of them are primarily non-profit organizations working in rural communities and dedicated funding, especially for project planning and development, is difficult to find. The state can provide the broad framework and vision at the 30,000’ level but needs to invest in providing financial support and technical assistance to these coordinators.  In turn, the coordinators can leverage these resources and dedicate their time to help communities understand the issues and build home grown solutions.  In weaving a network of well supported local leaders we can be much more effective and efficient at managing our water resources over such a large and diverse landscape.

What is the role of private organizations?

Community-based conservation organizations can build powerful place-based public private partnerships that provide the glue among diverse interests and leverage a variety of resources.  Water issues are never simple, and they require creative approaches to consider multiple objectives. If we try to direct solutions from outside of the community, there is less buy in and long-term sustainability.  However, if we have an independent organization that is committed to incorporating multiple perspectives based on community needs, across a spectrum of mutual objectives, we can create much more successful, sustainable results. It can also build a local sense of pride in their community and accomplishments.  

What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about water in Montana – or what would you like every Montanan to understand about how they get water?

Water is complicated.  Just when you begin to think you understand the water cycle, or the connections between ground and surface waters, or how land use impacts the way water moves through the watershed, or the importance of stream flow for fisheries and habitat, then you throw in water rights law based on a system developed during the homestead era.  

If we think of our water supply in the same way that we manage an annual family budget: we have limited funds, with competing uses and we aren’t exactly sure when or where the money will arrive. We are socking money away in the winter (snowpack), and we might get a stimulus check in the spring (runoff), and perhaps a little mad cash (rain) in May and June but things start to get tight in July, August, September and maybe October (family holdback time).  Oh, and by the way we are having company for most of the summer so will have more mouths to feed (landscaping & irrigation). We need to find ways to invest and create savings accounts to budget through the long hot summer months.  And no, it is not okay to dig into the trust fund (groundwater) as we are living on the interest from that account to feed our other accounts. It is one big, interconnected water budget that we all must share, and we aren’t getting a raise.  We must learn to make do with what we have and find ways to consume less. We aren’t making new water.

What can each of us do to ensure we all have enough water for all our needs?

Our rivers and streams that support fish, wildlife, and recreation and supply our drinking water are fed by annual precipitation and supplemented by groundwater. When we withdraw groundwater, we are simply stealing from our savings account, and need to make deposits back into the system.  We can accomplish this by slowing the water down as it moves through our watersheds and capturing some of the rain and snowmelt before it flows down river.  Functioning floodplains, side channels and wetlands are very effective at reducing the impacts of floods, but also at saturating the sponge to slowly replenish the shallow aquifers.  If we build near rivers and disconnect them from their floodplains, we are breaking an important part of the cycle, increasing the flooding impacts downstream and robbing the system of the ability to recharge itself.  I would hope that everyone understands the interconnectedness and how important it is to consider the system holistically. And finally, water is one of our most precious resources and we must learn to live within our means.