WATER COURT RULING

Water Commissioner Information

Posted June 22, 2012

The Water Court has made a final water ruling. Everyone should have recently received the document with new ruling. Here is the chart to show the new water amounts per lot. The amounts are less than the original water court ruling.
Water Court ruling on water amounts. Ditch names included on the chart.

Posted June 27, 2017

The Water Court has information on Irrigation Companies.Irrigation Companies: Water Users Associations...

Posted April 22, 2012

Maps of the SMWOA land irrigated by the ditches and the springs have been added to the website. The maps were sent with a report by Kyle Mace to SMW water rights owners by the Water Court around January 2012. The document was filed Dec 29, 2011.

Posted April 18, 2012

Period of Use for the 3 water claims that use Nugget ditch
Germann Ranch April 15- Oct 4
Twin Knob May 1- Sept 30
SMW water owners May 15- Sept 19

March 19, 2014

A letter was sent by email or mail to all water rights owners. Claude Mulholland has been appointed water commissioner for North Meadow Creek. He wants to remind everyone that headgates and measuring devices are required if you plan to divert water out of Nugget Ditch.
Letter to SMWOA water rights owners March 22, 2014

The Montana Water Court has determined that the 6 SMWOA water rights are owned by individual lot owners and are managed by the Association as stated in covenant 3. The 6 rights are Green Acres Ditch high and low water, Nugget Gulch Ditch high and low waters, and 2 springs.

Covenant 3

Said Owner's Association shall have the power and authority to construct, acquire, and maintain roadways, lanes and other improvements for access to provide for security of the premises, to administer, use, employ, lease, maintain and operate the water rights appurtenant to said lands as a whole for beneficial uses for the entire subdivision. To build, maintain and construct livestock fencing around the perimeter of the property.

Some lots in SMWOA have a water right. The Water Court has identified these lots. Some of the names on this list may not be up to date. New lot owners should contact Water Court and DNRC in Bozeman to update the records.

Lots with water rights

All water rights owners, especially those members who use the water for irrigation, are responsible for maintaining the irrigation ditches and main headgates. SMWOA would like to create a way for the water rights owners to work together to maintain the ditches and share the irrigation water in a responsible way.

Having a Water Commissioner in charge of the water usage is the first step in managing the SMWOA water rights effectively.

Posted Jan 30

Headgates and measuring devices will be required if you want to use water starting in May 2014. You can contact the Water Commissioner to get more information. Claude Mulholland 406-682-4886

Posted August 31

Parshall flume chart

This chart shows how many miner's inches are flowing through the main Parshall flumes in Nugget ditch

Posted July 14, 2013

Raul Luciani has volunteered to be the contact for the Water Commissioner. If the commissioner wants to send information to the water users, he will contact Raul who will then send information to the water users. Raul will also look into a how to form a water group.

There are some elements of the infrastructure for a water pump in the Spring in the south east area of SMW. Water rights owners for this spring may want to decide what to do with this equipment. If you look at the abstract below, you can determine if you are a water rights owner on this spring. The abstract describes the land that can be irrigated by the water in the spring.You can go to DNRC and get your name on the claim as well.

The abstract for the water right on the southeast spring

Posted June 10, 2013

Claude Mulholland, the Water Commissioner assigned by District Court to distribute water on Nugget Ditch and upstream from the Nugget headgate on North Meadow Creek, has written a letter to SMWOA water rights owners. It was mailed on June 10, 2013. A link to the letter is also available here.

A letter from Claude Mulholland June 10, 2013

Posted May 11 2013

The Water Commissioner, Claude Mulholland, has begun to look at the area that he will monitor this summer. He wants to be familiar with where the headgates are or where they need to be installed. He will mail information out to every water rights owner in the designated area (Nugget ditch and North Meadow Creek north of Nugget headgate).

Posted May 3, 2013

The SMWOA Board and several water rights owners have been working on several water issues in SMWOA. To address conflicts and illegal use of water, some water right owners have petitioned District Court for a water commissioner for Nugget ditch and the north end of North Meadow creek. Members who use irrigation water during 2013 will pay for a portion of the salary of the water commissioner who will begin work in July. These water users must have operable headgates and water measuring devices in order to be able to use water during the period considered "low water". Water users on the north end of North Meadow Creek will also be monitored by the water commissioner and will pay for a portion of the water commissioner's salary.

Forming a "water group" within SMWOA is another issue to be addressed this year. Al Verbanac is working on gathering information about forming such a group. Below is a letter from Al summing up the work that has been done and that is going to be done in the future. This letter was emailed or mailed to all members of SMWOA. (If you did not get this letter by email, please check your "junk" box. The email may have gone there.)

To all SMWOA members with water rights, from Al Verbanac,

There will be some changes in the way that we manage our water, and they will be changes that will have positive results.

First some background. As you probably know the water court in a preliminary decree has determined that we each individually own our shares of water, and that SMWOA has some management responsibility. The court has left it up to us to decide how to fulfill that responsibility. The Board of Directors has been gathering information and has also asked me to assist.

The most immediate change and one that will assure equitable distribution of our water this season is that we are petitioning the court to appoint a water commissioner aka "ditch rider" for Nugget Ditch and the north end of North Meadow Creek. The water commissioner has legal authority that will prevent further conflict and will also provide some level of guidance in the use of water and the maintenance of the ditch. Those of us that use water will be required to have operable headgates and to provide a means of measuring our water usage. This is a first step and one that is necessary. At this time it appears that the costs for the water commissioner will be both reasonable and minimal.

The next step after petitioning the district court for a water commissioner is to form a water rights owners group for the purpose of maintaining Nugget ditch and the headgates. This group could also have a role in managing the use of water in SMWOA. Some of the questions are, "How much will this cost, and how will it work?" We will be gathering more information in the near future to answer these and other questions by contacting other water user groups and learning how they are managing their water. Our goal is to present a plan to the SMWOA water owners that we can discuss and then determine how to proceed. It is also possible that other water owners on our ditches may participate at some level.

To sum up, we will have a court appointed water commissioner this season who will assure that we all get our fair share of the water. There will be a process of investigation and learning to develop a plan to present to all SMWOA members with water rights which will answer questions of cost and the mechanics of how we will manage the water and maintain Nugget ditch.

Those of us with water rights will bear the greatest share of any and all costs.

At this point we will hold any costs to the Association to an absolute minimum while understanding that SMWOA still retains a level of responsibility for management of the water. One of our goals is to relieve the general membership ( i.e members who do not own a water right ) of the costs associated with management and maintenance of the water.

There will be further communications to keep all of us informed of progress. Please check the SMWOA website for more information.

I know that I am looking forward to achieving better management of our water in a way that will reduce conflict, assure equitable distribution, and improve the level of maintenance of our ditches and head gates. All of these are positives that will add to the value of our properties and further enhance the quality of our lives here in Montana.

If you have specific questions please contact the Board of Directors or myself through the “contact SMWOA” link on www.SMWOA.org. or by emailing smwoa1@gmail.com. Together we will answer with the most current information available.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and myself, thank you for your interest on this subject,