Light snow pack underscores importance of stored water

The most glaring number that the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) provided at the March 24 St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group (SMRWG) meeting in Havre was not the $40 million construction cost for a new diversion structure. It was the fact that the current snow pack in the St. Mary/Milk River system was only at 65%. This highlights the importance of a reservoir and conveyance system. Reservoirs were able to capture fall storm events and 2015 early spring runoff. This gives the irrigation project full storage for the season. Without this storage, irrigation would be based on the short early runof...