2016 Broadwater County Water Year Summary

[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true”]2016 Water Year In A Nutshell:[/custom_headline]

We Have Reached the End of the 2016 Water Year and now it’s time to compile our water supply data and see the results.  This year was an especially interesting year in Broadwater County, and throughout Montana.

We went from above average snowpack to early runoff to early haying to a devastating hail storm in August that turned Townsend into a “winter wonderland”.  These weather events caused a range of emotions and concerns throughout long time members of the county.

All in all, it looks as though Broadwater County had an average year for water supply, despite the early run off, and Missouri River and Canyon Ferry Reservoir remaining well below average throughout the summer. 

We received quite a few rain events throughout low flow times that worked to keep our streams and soils happy.  Without those rain events, and combined with early run off, we could have expected a much different year. 

Deep Creek had a few below average months but all in all showed average flow throughout the water year.  Hydrographs and data for 2016 will be added soon!

[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”true”]2016 Monitoring Data Below[/custom_headline]

A map showing the 2016 water supply monitoring sites throughout Broadwater County.

• Snowpack (January-June):

  • Boulder Mountain remained above average  (94-107%)
  • Tizer Basin remained below average all months except February (0-92%)
  • Click Here for NRCS SnoTel Station Information (Boulder and Tizer)

• Deep Creek:

  •  Deep Creek remained at average for the majority of the water year despite early runoff.
  • Deep Creek Data coming soon!

• Canyon Ferry Reservoir:

  •  The Reservoir data was far below average this year.
  • Click Here for Current Canyon Ferry Reservoir Data.

• Toston USGS Stream Gauge:

  •  The Missouri River flows were considerably low this year compared to historical data.
  • Click Here for Map of Real-Time/historical streamflow for the day of the year (Montana).

• Countywide Precipitation:

  • Broadwater County Received: 6.89″ April-October
  • Click Here for Countywide Precipitation Data.
  • Click Here for Townsend Precipitation.
  • Click Here for Toston Agrimet Weather Station Precipitation

This year, the BCD has concentrated a lot of their time working with the Missouri Headwaters to address drought in our region.  The District worked diligently this year to increase education and outreach using different awareness tools and best available data. 

We are aiming to improve our mitigation strategies and create response plans and actions to drought situations in the county.  We plan to collaborate with other counties and DES to improve these strategies.  The district hopes to expand our monitoring efforts and continue this program throughout years to come.