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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-15-25 Public Comment - D. Carty - Public Comment to IWRP-TAC for October 15, 2025, meetingFrom:Daniel Carty To:Shawn Kohtz; Jessica Ahlstrom Cc:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment to IWRP-TAC for October 15, 2025, meeting Date:Tuesday, October 14, 2025 10:29:57 AM Attachments:IWRP-TAC_PublicComment_DanCarty_10-14-25.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. (Note: Please place this public comment in the City's Integrated Water Resources Management Plan update folder and/or in the IWRP-TAC folder) October 14, 2025; 10:30am To: Utilities Director Shawn Kohtz and Water Conservation Program Manager Jessica Ahlstrom From: Daniel Carty, Bozeman Resident Subject: Public comment to the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IWRP) - Technical Advisory Commitee (TAC) for their October 15, 2025, meeting. Please distribute the attached public comment (pdf) to the consultant for and all membersof the IWRP-TAC in time for the IWRP-TAC meeting on October 15, 2025. Sincerely, Daniel Carty 213 N. 3rd Ave Bozeman, MT 59717 Page 1 of 2 October 14, 2025 To: Integrated Water Resources Plan (IWRP) Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) From: Daniel Carty, Bozeman resident Subject: IWRP TAC meeting, October 15, 2025 Introduction I am writing to comment on agenda items D.1 – Alternatives Brainstorm (Policy Discussion) and E.1 – Evaluation Criteria Confirmation (Policy Discussion). Both of these agenda items reference the Bozeman Strategic Plan, Section 6. – Sustainable Environment and Section 6.1. – Clean Water Supplies: Ensure adequate supplies of clean water for today and tomorrow. However, neither agenda item D.1 nor E.1 references Section 6.1.a. – Watershed Management: Develop and implement a regional watershed approach to manage water quantity and quality. Hence, it is within the contexts of local and regional watershed function and management that I offer the following questions and comments to the IWRP TAC as they discuss agenda items D.1 and E.1 at the October 15, 2025, meeting: Questions and Comments (1) Is the IWRP TAC working from an anthropocentric or ecocentric worldview? Is the City of Bozeman working from an anthropocentric or ecocentric worldview? (2) What are the factors driving the City of Bozeman’s desire to get more water? (3) Re: the Bozeman Strategic Plan, Section 6.1.a.: What is the physical extent of the regional watershed referred to in the phrase regional watershed approach? (4) The City of Bozeman sits in the East Gallatin River watershed. What are the major and minor drainages in this watershed? Have all naturally occurring watercourses and wetlands within this watershed been mapped? Have all active and inactive irrigation ditches within this watershed been mapped? Have all private ponds and private wells within this watershed been mapped? Has the aquifer(s) underneath the East Gallatin River watershed been mapped? Is there one map that shows all of this information? Does the City of Bozeman—based on the boundaries of its current future land use map—anticipate expanding beyond the East Gallatin River watershed? (5) Is the functioning of the East Gallatin River watershed—including its aquifer(s)—fully understood?1 If not, should this be the IWRP TAC’s first task before it can brainstorm and evaluate ways for the City of Bozeman to get more water? Page 2 of 2 (6) On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent), how would the IWRP TAC rate the current functioning of the East Gallatin River watershed, including its aquifer(s)? Or, please rate aquifer(s) functioning separately if that is more appropriate. If the overall functioning of the East Gallatin River watershed, including aquifer(s), is found to be lacking, how should the IWRP TAC figure that into brainstorming and evaluating ways for the City of Bozeman to get more water? (7) Re the City’s water supply specifically: Should the IWRP TAC run a “stress test “on the City’s current water supply? For example: Take all of the residential units under construction or approved and add them to existing water consumption and then place that totality of water consumption against water supply after a 3-to-5-year drought? (8) Three pipelines are being considered—or at least have been mentioned: (a) Canyon Ferry to Bozeman, (b) Bozeman to-and-from Belgrade, and (c) Yellowstone River to Bozeman. Has the IWRP TAC conducted an exhaustive literature review of all ecological, social, cultural, economic, and legal issues surrounding large inter- and intra-basin water transfers on locales from where water is taken and on locales where water is delivered? If not, do the City and IWRP TAC have a responsibility to do such a literature review before being able to evaluate the City of Bozeman’s “pipeline dreams”? (9) Should every brainstorm idea for the City of Bozeman to get more water be evaluated not only from engineering, economic, and legal viewpoints but also from ecological, social, and cultural viewpoints before getting the OK from the IWRP TAC to be included in the final IWRP update? In other words, does the IWRP TAC have an ethical responsibility to evaluate ecological, social, and cultural factors, too? (10) Does the City of Bozeman have sufficient water rights for sale to allow the cash-in-lieu-of- water-rights program (CILWR) to function under any scenario? In other words, does the City of Bozeman see the CILWR program as infinite in time? Thank you for the opportunity to offer public comment. Sincerely, Daniel Carty 213 N. 3rd Ave Bozeman, MT 59715 cc: Bozeman Utilities Director Shawn Kohtz and Bozeman Water Conservation Program Manager Jessica Ahlstrom 1 A watershed's function is to collect, store, and release water that falls on a specific land area, ultimately draining into a common body of water. Its hydrologic and ecological functions include acting as a natural filtration system by slowing runoff, allowing infiltration to recharge groundwater, and providing habitat for plants and animals.