The Blackfeet Nation seeks an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Blackfeet Reservation of northwestern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed in order to make informed water management decisions as the Blackfeet Nation moves forward with implementation of the Blackfeet Water Rights Compact as new water-use projects are initiated and as the Blackfeet Irrigation Project is improved. In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Blackfeet Water Department, began working in collaboration to design and implement a data-collection program that will potentially include miscellaneous and continuous discharge measurements of area streams and canals, installation and operation of streamflow gaging stations, groundwater-level monitoring, database management, and training. Data will be used to understand current conditions and will be available for baseline comparisons as Blackfeet water projects are implemented.
Specific Objectives:
- Establish a data-collection network that will include streamflow gaging stations, miscellaneous discrete streamflow measurements, basin-wide synoptic streamflow measurements, and groundwater-level monitoring.
- An emphasis will be placed on training Blackfeet Water Office staff and other members of the community to collect, review, and manage hydrologic data and to ultimately provide furnished data to be included in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
New Groundwater Monitoring Wells Installed on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana
- Overview
The Blackfeet Nation seeks an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Blackfeet Reservation of northwestern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed in order to make informed water management decisions as the Blackfeet Nation moves forward with implementation of the Blackfeet Water Rights Compact as new water-use projects are initiated and as the Blackfeet Irrigation Project is improved. In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Blackfeet Water Department, began working in collaboration to design and implement a data-collection program that will potentially include miscellaneous and continuous discharge measurements of area streams and canals, installation and operation of streamflow gaging stations, groundwater-level monitoring, database management, and training. Data will be used to understand current conditions and will be available for baseline comparisons as Blackfeet water projects are implemented.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Figure 1. Location and boundary Blackfeet Indian Reservation Specific Objectives:
- Establish a data-collection network that will include streamflow gaging stations, miscellaneous discrete streamflow measurements, basin-wide synoptic streamflow measurements, and groundwater-level monitoring.
- An emphasis will be placed on training Blackfeet Water Office staff and other members of the community to collect, review, and manage hydrologic data and to ultimately provide furnished data to be included in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System database.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
New Groundwater Monitoring Wells Installed on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana
A cooperative effort by the Blackfeet Water Department, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the U.S. Geological Survey has resulted in the drilling and instrumentation of a nested pair of new groundwater observation wells on the Blackfeet Reservation of northwest Montana. These wells are included in the USGS’s National Ground-Water Monitoring Network. - Data
- Publications
- Partners