HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-25 Public Comment - D. Carty - Public Comment_ Nov 13 INC meeting, Agenda Item E.1_ IWRP updateFrom:Daniel Carty
To:Bozeman Public Comment; Emily Kiely
Cc:Alison Sweeney
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment: Nov 13 INC meeting, Agenda Item E.1: IWRP update
Date:Thursday, November 13, 2025 10:40:56 AM
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Nov 13, 2025; 10:40am
Please distribute to all INC members for today's INC meeting. Thank you.
Public Comment: Agenda Item E.1: Integrated Water Resources Plan update
During the past year or so, the City of Bozeman's messaging about its municipal water
supply has flipped from (a) development-related demand on our finite water supply willoutpace that supply by the mid-2030s to (b) we have plenty of water. With that flip in water-
messaging in mind, I offer the following comments related to the City's ongoing IntegratedWater Resources Plan update:
The City of Bozeman is updating its Integrated Water Resources Plan (IWRP). As an
observer, I've sat in on the past three, 3-hour meetings of the IWRP's Technical AdvisoryCommittee (TAC). To date, my impression of the IWRP TAC process is that the City has
only one goal for updating the IWRP — and that goal is to get more water to fuel moreunlimited growth (most of it luxury development) at an unlimited pace.
During the TAC meetings I've attended, the City has shown no concern for the ecological
functioning of the East Gallatin River watershed or this watershed’s aquifers. For example:
(1) The City plans to drill for 1,500 acre-feet of groundwater per year, with drilling depthsranging from several hundred feet to possibly 4,000 to 6,000 feet.
(2) Also, the City is discussing building five pipelines to "take water” from other locations:
(a) Canyon Ferry Reservoir, (b) Missouri River upstream from Canyon Ferry (maybe nearToston Dam), (c) Yellowstone River (the longest free-flowing, undammed river in lower 48),
(d) Brackett Creek in the Shields River/Yellowstone River drainage, and (e) and a two-waypipeline between Bozeman (surface water) and Belgrade (ground water).
Disingenuously, the City already refers to these potential takings of water importing water!
So, the City’s water spin-doctors are already well at work!
The IWRP TAC has at least three members who could bring sanity to the City's quest formore water to fuel unlimited growth at an unlimited pace. These members are Montana
Trout Unlimited, Gallatin Watershed Council, and MT DNRC. Each has voiced concernsabout the long-term ecological functioning of and non-consumptive ecosystem services
provided by Bozeman's East Gallatin River watershed in the face of unlimited growth andclimate change. However, whether the City will listen to these voices remains to be seen. I
have my doubts.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Daniel Carty
213 N. 3rd Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715