Water

Federal regulators have approved a plan to divert water from the Yellowstone River to help farmers in eastern Montana.

Montana will issue $5.5 million in coal-severance tax bonds as part of a $40.5 million financing package for a dozen drinking water and wastewater projects across the state.

Officials in a small Montana town say they will have to disincorporate the community or declare bankruptcy over an ongoing dispute with the Blackfeet Tribe about water and utility services.

The city of Missoula has appealed the $88.6 million value placed on the city's drinking water system.

A panel of commissioners with Missoula District Court have announced a final valuation for the Mountain Water Company at $88.6 million, nearly double the $46 million the City of Missoula had wanted to pay and a little more than half of the $146 million Carlyle Group had hoped for.

Federal environmental regulators say an investigation will begin this month to gauge the extent of contamination at a former pulp mill along the Clark Fork River in Frenchtown.

What's with that murky-looking water? We are scratching our heads, too.

Near the end of August, a group called the Advocates for Missoula’s Future filed a motion in Judge Karen Townsend’s court to see the recent valuation of the Mountain Water Company.

On Tuesday, the Montana Public Service Commission voted 5 – 0 to deny a request by the city of Missoula to stop the transfer of management of Mountain Water company from Park Water to Liberty Utilities.

Water flows are flowing less than half the volume normally seen on the Clark Fork River waterways in Missoula and they are putting a huge damper on river recreation, including floating and kayaking--even surfing for some in western Montana.