Water Quality Planning Projects

The majority of the Beaverhead TMDL Planning Area (TPA) is located within Beaverhead County, with a small portion in Madison County and includes the towns of Dillon and Twin Bridges. The Beaverhead TPA encompasses the Beaverhead River watershed, which begins at the outlet of the Clark Canyon Reservoir and flows northeast 79.5 miles before joining the Big Hole River to form the Jefferson River. The TPA coincides with the 10020002 fourth-code hydrologic unit code (HUC), and is bounded by the Pioneer Mountains on the west, the Ruby Range to the east, and the Snowcrest Range and Blacktail Mountains to the south.

Since the conclusion of water quality monitoring projects, three TMDL documents have been published that address multiple streams and pollutant types within the Beaverhead TPA. Nutrient TMDLs, however, are still in development.

DEQ has completed several years of water quality sampling for sediment, temperature, nutrients, and metals in cooperation with the Beaverhead Watershed Committee and others. 

Through this monitoring efforts, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has identified 15 streams or assessment units with nutrient water quality impairments in the Beaverhead TPA. They are shown in the table below. The TMDL planning process for this TPA incorporates a combination of water quality sampling and hydrologic modeling to further identify and quantify nutrient contributions from all significant sources.

The following table identifies which streams have nutrient listed impairments. For complete information on each stream's probable impairment causes and sources, see DEQ's Clean Water Act Information Center.

After a waterbody is listed as impaired for any pollutant, a total maximum daily load (TMDL) is calculated for that waterbody-pollutant combination. TMDLs represent the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter a waterbody without exceeding the water quality standard. In addition, TMDL documents give specific recommendations for best management practices in order to meet the TMDL value.

Nutrient TMDLs are currently awaiting development based on listings in the 2020 Integrated Report.

Sediment TMDLs were completed in July of 2012. A temperature TMDL was developed for the lower segment of the Beaverhead River in November of 2014. Metals TMDLs were completed in September of 2020. The final documents can be found on DEQ's TMDL page.

DEQ has completed several years of water quality sampling for sediment, temperature, nutrients, and metals in cooperation with the Beaverhead Watershed Committee and others. 

Additional information will be provided as Nutrient TMDLs progress.

The Clarks Fork Yellowstone TMDL Planning Area (TPA) is contained within Carbon County. Towns in the watershed include Red Lodge, Belfry, Bridger, Fromberg, Edgar, and Joliet. The Clarks Fork Yellowstone project area encompasses the area shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Clarks Fork Yellowstone TMDL Planning Area

 

The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River originates in the Beartooth Mountains at the confluence of Fisher Creek and Lady of the Lake Creek, in Park County, Montana. From there, the river flows south past Cooke City. After crossing into Wyoming, the river begins to meander eastward. Once the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone leaves the Shoshone National Forest, it flows north and returns to Montana near Chance, MT.

The Clarks Fork Yellowstone watershed coincides with the 10070006 fourth-code hydrologic unit code (HUC). The watershed is bounded by the Beartooth Mountains and Stillwater watershed to the west, the Ralston Flats to the south, and the Pryor Mountains and Pryor Creek watershed to the east. One reservoir is in the watershed along Red Lodge Creek (Cooney Reservoir). The total extent of the watershed is 942,469 acres, or approximately 1,472 square miles. This TPA project includes the portion of the watershed after it re-enters Montana from Wyoming (Figure 1).

The water quality monitoring project was initiated in 2022 and will continue through 2025. The project is designed to complete beneficial use assessments, TMDL development, and restoration efforts. Monitoring is occurring on the mainstem of the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River, Rock Creek, 16 additional tributaries, and Cooney Reservoir.

DEQ is monitoring the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River, 16 of its tributaries, and Cooney Reservoir for a variety of parameters including nutrients, metals, E. coli, sediment, and oil and gas constituents. The monitoring design was informed by past impairment listings, watershed risk analysis, and stakeholder feedback. Monitoring for nutrients, metals, algae, and oil and gas parameters was completed in 2024. Sediment and habitat monitoring will occur during summer 2025. After monitoring is complete, DEQ will perform beneficial use assessments to identify water quality impairments, or waters that are not meeting water quality standards. Once assessments are complete, a table of the water quality impairments will be posted to this page.

The table below identifies all the waterbodies being monitored as part of this effort, as well as the major categories of pollutants that are being sampled on each waterbody. For a detailed list of parameters being monitored for each stream, please see the sampling and analysis plans posted in the “Documents and Reports” section below.

Data can be downloaded from the National Water Quality Portal or requested from the project manager (Abbie Ebert).

After a waterbody is listed as impaired for any pollutant, a total maximum daily load (TMDL) is calculated for that waterbody-pollutant combination. TMDLs represent the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter a waterbody without exceeding the water quality standard. In addition, TMDL documents give specific recommendations for best management practices in order to meet the TMDL value.

TMDLs will be developed for the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River watershed; however, a timeline for completion has not yet been developed. This information will be updated once water quality assessments are complete.

TMDLs have been completed for the headwaters of the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River and can be found in the Water Quality Restoration Plan for the Cooke City TMDL Planning Area document.

The middle segment of the Gallatin River (Assessment Unit: MT41H001_021) originates at the Yellowstone National Park Boundary, flowing 39.28 miles north to the confluence of Spanish Creek, and has portions of its watershed in Gallatin, Madison, and Park counties.

Recurrent, filamentous algal blooms have been observed on this segment of the Gallatin River. On March 31^st, 2022, DEQ received a petition to assess the middle segment of the Gallatin River and determine if recurrent undesirable algal blooms require listing as an impaired water on Montana’s 303(d) list. The petition provided photos and videos of algae growth on this segment along with testimonials of recreationalist and businesses that derive income based on recreation. After reviewing the evidence provided by this petition, DEQ determined there was sufficient credible data that indicates the segment is impaired due to excess algal growth under the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 17.30.637(1)(e). The algae listing was included as an addendum to the 2020 Water Quality Integrated Report. However, the assessment also revealed the river is not impaired for nitrogen and phosphorus when compared to existing numeric criteria.

DEQ is devoting significant monitoring resources over three years, beginning in 2023, to further study the Gallatin River to determine thresholds for controllable pollutants and other factors that affect algae growth in the middle segment. This study will help determine causes and sources of algae growth. Project outcomes include writing appropriate total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and guide future impairment listings.

Anticipated timelines for this project include completion of water quality monitoring in 2025, followed by development of a water quality model to determine the drivers of excess algal growth, and completion of TMDLs by 2028. 

DEQ is conducting extensive water quality and algae monitoring that will continue through 2025. These efforts will facilitate updates to beneficial use assessment as well as bolster data collection for studying undesirable algal growth on the middle segment of the Gallatin River. The full suite of monitoring parameters is described in the table below.

This monitoring effort will allow DEQ to model algal growth and help determine when and why excess algae is proliferating within the middle segment of the Gallatin River. Outputs from these modeling efforts will be used to calculate a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the pollutants responsible for algal growth.

Upon completion, algae study results will be available on this website. Water quality data collected during this monitoring effort will be available from the Water Quality Portal.

After a waterbody is listed as impaired for any pollutant, a total maximum daily load (TMDL) is calculated for that waterbody-pollutant combination. TMDLs represent the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter a waterbody and still meet the water quality standard. In addition, TMDL documents give specific recommendations for best management practices to meet the TMDL value.

TMDLs on the middle segment of the Gallatin River are a DEQ priority due to the river’s importance and should be completed by 2028. TMDLs will be completed for all pollutants determined to be contributing to the excess algal growth impairment. Additional information about the TMDL development process will be added once TMDL development begins.

The Smith River begins near White Sulphur Springs at the confluence of its north and south forks and flows north approximately 125 miles to its confluence with the Missouri River. The Smith River watershed, shown on the map below with its major tributaries, is surrounded by the Little Belt Mountains to the east and the Big Belt Mountains to the west. The river is popular with recreators due to its trout fishery and canyon scenery, and floaters require a permit from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

DEQ was involved in two major projects in the Smith River watershed that concluded in 2024. One investigated the causes of excess algae growth, and the other investigated baseline metals concentrations in the river and selected tributaries. Both final reports are available on this website. DEQ will assess the impairment status of the Smith River using data presented in these reports and all other available and credible data. 

Algae Study

Beginning during the 2015 floating season, recreators reported attached algae growth in the Smith River beyond commonly observed levels. In response to these observations and additional complaints in subsequent years, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began monitoring algae levels along the Smith River and investigating potential causes of the excess algae growth. DEQ completed the Smith River Algae Study in 2024. DEQ found that Cladophora glomerata (hereafter Cladophora) was the dominant algae species responsible for the excess growth. Cladophora is a native filamentous alga which forms long filamentous streamers which are attached to the stream bed and can, in excess, negatively impact recreators and aquatic life. DEQ found that the likely cause of the changing Cladophora growth is increasing air and water temperatures in the Smith River watershed. Warmer temperatures, aligned with other growth factors, can stimulate faster growth of Cladophora and other algae species especially in the month of June. The study found no increases in nutrient concentrations when compared to the 1970s, and found and no changes to river discharge timing, magnitude, or duration which could have favored excess Cladophora growth.

The specific conclusions of the algae study include:

• Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are high in June due to normal runoff effects, and now there are also optimal river water temperatures for rapid algae growth occurring at the same time.
• In the Smith River valley, minimum daily air temperatures are trending warmer in spring and early summer, consistent with regional climate change.
• Smith River water temperatures are trending warmer in spring and early summer, driven by warmer air temperatures, and are moving into the ideal temperature range for rapid algae growth by June.

Metals Study

The Smith River watershed has also gained public attention due to the Black Butte Copper Project, an underground copper mine proposed by Tintina Montana, Inc. (Tintina) that would be located 15 miles north of White Sulphur Springs near Sheep Creek, a tributary of the Smith River. The proposed project area is in the south-central portion of the Sheep Creek drainage, approximately 19 miles upstream from the Smith River confluence. Direct impacts to the Smith River are not anticipated from the Black Butte Copper Project, but DEQ recognized the opportunity to simultaneously collect information on major ion and metal concentrations at the same time as the algae study detailed above. Between 2018-2019, DEQ collected water samples throughout the watershed for metals and ions. Water temperatures, flow rates, and other physical parameters were also monitored throughout this period.

Metals are a focus in the Smith River watershed due to diverse geologic conditions along with historical and ongoing land disturbance, primarily from agriculture and mining operations. DEQ completed the Smith River Metals Study in 2024, summarizing baseline ion and metal concentrations in the Smith River and selected tributaries. The report is available on this website and its major conclusions include:

• Data from the past decade show that metals concentrations are generally low throughout the Smith River, with the exception of aluminum and iron periodically not meeting the water quality standards for aquatic life at some locations.
• Some tributaries to the Smith River contribute to changes in metals and chemical characteristics at low concentrations, likely reflecting the natural weathering of geologic formations along with historical and ongoing human disturbance activities within the watershed.
• The metals study report summarizes background conditions prior to any construction or mine development at the Black Butte Copper Project near Sheep Creek, which today has not yet started any mining, water management, or water discharge activities.

After a waterbody is listed as impaired for any pollutant, a total maximum daily load (TMDL) is calculated for that waterbody-pollutant combination. TMDLs represent the maximum amount of a pollutant that can enter a waterbody without exceeding the water quality standard. In addition, TMDL documents give specific recommendations for best management practices in order to meet the TMDL value.

There is not an established timeline for TMDLs on the Smith River, but it is a DEQ priority due to the river’s importance. TMDLs will be completed for any pollutants causing impairment.

In early 2023, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) contracted Geum Environmental Consulting and Slough Creek Consulting to:

• Assess historical land use, existing water quality data, and information provided by local individuals and organizations to identify primary limitations to watershed health.
• Identify restoration strategies and priority locations to improve stream and floodplain conditions. 
• Engage stakeholders and work towards facilitating restoration through local organizations.

Key takeaways from the resulting report titled "Smith River Basin-wide Assessment Watershed Restoration Plan" include:

• The main degradational issues within the Smith River watershed are reduced streamflows, floodplain and riparian vegetation loss, increased erosion, increased water temperatures, and pollution from E. coli and nutrients.
• Agricultural land users and recreators play a critical role in implementing best management practices to restore watershed health. 
• This report makes it possible to get grant funding for projects that restore watershed health.

The report is intended as a practical resource for the community and is available on this website.

The Lower Gallatin Watershed is located in the south-central portion of the state, and includes parts of Gallatin, Park, and Madison Counties. The Focus Watershed project area includes the towns of Bozeman, Belgrade and Manhattan, and the streams draining the northern flanks of the Gallatin Range and much of the Bridger Range. It covers 997 square miles (638,381 acres) between these headwaters and the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson rivers near Three Forks. DEQ has assessed many streams of the Lower Gallatin watershed and identified numerous water quality impairments. 

 

Factors in selection of the Lower Gallatin Watershed:

– DEQ and local stakeholder groups had created the planning documents needed to quantify water quality impairments and sources and developed strategies for how to best address these impairments.

• Lower Gallatin Planning Area TMDLs & Framework Water Quality Improvement Plan (DEQ, 2013)
• Lower Gallatin Watershed Restoration Plan (Greater Gallatin Watershed Council, 2014)

– The importance of timely support to implement high-priority water quality improvement projects in the context of a fast-growing population.

– The capacity potential of the many stakeholder groups working to monitor and improve water quality in the watershed, including:

Gallatin Watershed Council	Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators
Trout Unlimited	Four Corners Foundation
Gallatin Conservation District	Sacajawea Audubon Society
City of Bozeman - Water Reclamation	Montana Watershed Coordination Council
City of Bozeman - Parks and Recreation	MT State University Extension Water Quality
City of Bozeman - Stormwater Division	Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Gallatin City/County Health Department	MT Dept. of Nat. Resources & Conservation (DNRC)
Custer Gallatin National Forest	Gallatin Local Water Quality District
Gallatin Valley Land Trust	Greater Yellowstone Coalition

– The potential to improve water quality and reduce the community’s point source treatment costs by implementing nonpoint source BMPs.

• Video highlighting the work of the Gallatin Watershed Council
• Story by the Montana Watershed Coordination Council on the Gallatin Watershed

 

 

The voluntary implementation of projects and activities to address its nonpoint sources of pollution rely on the education and empowerment of communities to take action.  In 2020, DEQ partnered with local stakeholders to conduct a Community Readiness Assessment (CRA) to identify the current stage of readiness in the Lower Gallatin Watershed to address nonpoint source challenges and the key actions to move toward ownership and action on these challenges.

The Lower Gallatin CRA used interviews with leaders from ten community sectors (outer ring) to evaluate five dimensions of community readiness to address nonpoint source issues (inner ring).

With representatives from the sectors identified in the CRA, the Gallatin Water Collaborative convened with the broader mission of “unifying local efforts to protect, restore and enhance water resources”.  Many Collaborative stakeholder groups have been implementing the key actions recommended in the CRA, advancing readiness to address nonpoint source pollution in the watershed. 

Lower Gallatin stakeholders have taken advantage of their focus watershed status by increasing the pace of on-the-ground restoration work.  In the ten years between approval of the Lower Gallatin Watershed Restoration Plan and the focus watershed designation, only $314,302 in 319 funds had been directed to projects in the watershed.  In just three years as the focus watershed, local stakeholder groups have been awarded nearly $1.1M in project funds.

Please visit our 319 Restorations Projects map for more information about restoration projects in the Lower Gallatin.

 

Tracking water quality is an important component of documenting the success of the focus watershed designation.  Several projects are anticipated to assist with this work.

Lower Gallatin Potential Project Mapping Method (PM2) Evaluation:

PM2 evaluations generate fine-scale riparian cover and potential pollution source data to support locally led efforts to improve water quality and protect watershed health. Prior to availability of increased funding, DEQ completed PM2 analysis on 59 streams in the Lower Gallatin watershed as tool for:

• Prioritizing waterbodies in need of on-the-ground water quality improvement projects
• Prioritizing healthy waterbodies and riparian areas for protection
• Planning outreach and education efforts to reach audiences with the greatest potential to protect or improve water quality
• Identifying specific locations where on-the-ground projects may be needed

DEQ is committed to repeating PM2 analysis at an appropriate interval post Focus Watershed designation.  For more information about PM2 methodology, contact DEQ’s Nonpoint Source Program staff.

Wetland Restoration Effectiveness Monitoring at Mandeville Creek:

DEQ is monitoring several restored wetland sites throughout the state to define a methodology for quantifying site-specific nutrient and sediment load reductions associated with wetland restoration. One such site is at Trout Unlimited’s 319 project site on Mandeville Creek. In addition to helping DEQ quantify how restored wetland projects uptake nutrients and attenuate sediment, this project is poised to help the City of Bozeman evaluate the potential for similar stream and wetland restoration projects within the watershed to become a component of their wastewater treatment permit.

The Gallatin Local Water Quality District’s Surface Water Monitoring Network:

The Gallatin Local Water Quality District (GLWQD) is a non-regulatory department of Gallatin County government with a mission to protect, preserve and improve water quality. GLWQD collects long-term surface water quality and quantity data at sixteen monitoring stations on twelve streams within the focus watershed boundary. Regular data collection from these monitoring stations began in spring of 2018 with a goal of trends analysis of many parameters commonly associated with nonpoint source pollution.  Visit the GLWQD website for more information about their surface water monitoring efforts.

TMDL Implementation Evaluations (TIEs)

The Lower Gallatin TMDL document presented a plan to reduce pollution from different sources in order to achieve water quality standards. The focus watershed designation provides local stakeholders with increased financial capacity to implement on-the-ground restoration projects to reduce the nonpoint sources of pollutants presented in the TMDL.  Once these projects have been implemented, TMDL Implementation Evaluations (TIEs) compile the planning, restoration, and monitoring that has occurred, summarize findings of the original TMDL Document and provide recommendations for improving water quality further.  TIEs also make monitoring recommendations to reassess streams and determine if water quality standards are now being attained.

No TIEs have been completed in the Lower Gallatin to date, but DEQ will be working with partners as we move forward to identify areas for TIE development.

The Gallatin Water Science Symposium

In February 2025, the first Gallatin Water Science Symposium was convened on the campus of Montana State University.  The event was an opportunity for water resource managers and researchers to connect with stakeholders to share their work surrounding water in the Gallatin.  Symposium attendees identified the meeting as a critical step toward more collaborative and informed water stewardship in the Gallatin Watershed.

Bridging Science & Action: Highlights from the Inaugural Gallatin Water Science Symposium