Streamflow and Groundwater Availability

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) occasionally causes disturbance to wetlands during construction. To comply with Federal, State, and Tribal regulations, MDT creates replacement wetlands to compensate for wetland loss. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collaborates with MDT to assess potential wetland replacement sites and monitor water conditions at established replacement sites...

The USGS streamgage on Muddy Creek in Vaugh, Montana is turning 100 in 2025! The streamgage has recorded streamflow data since 1925, and is an important source of information for agricultural producers and other irrigation water users in the area.

Installed in 1881, the Missouri River streamgage in Fort Benton, Montana, boasts 144 years of continuous recorded data. Data from this site support river monitoring and flood forecasting, and help recreationists understand current river conditions.

The USGS and partners monitor streamflow and water quality at a streamgage in Corwin Springs, situated on the Yellowstone River, 7.5 miles northwest of Gardiner, Montana. Daily flow data have been recorded at this site since 1890, establishing it as one of the longest running streamgages in the state.

The Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center operates nearly 400 streamgages in Montana and Wyoming. Some streamgages are tucked away in high mountains or remote prairies, while some reside in locations visited by millions of people each year. Uses of data from these streamgages include managing water rights and diversion, informing recreationists, and monitoring flows for fisheries and wildlife...

This streamgage on the Snake River was installed in 1904 and is one of the first streamgages established in Wyoming. Information from this site is used to make decisions on how irrigation water is delivered downstream, as well as monitor conditions for fisheries and recreational activities all year long.

The Snake River flows from Jackson Lake Dam about 25 river miles downstream to this location. As it meanders through the valley it gains water from tributaries on both the eastern and western side of the valley. Streamflow data provides information for downstream water users, as well as monitoring flow for fisheries and recreationists.

The Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, in collaboration with the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water Supply System (ASRWSS), is monitoring water quality on a seasonal basis at three U.S. Geological Survey streamgages along the Milk River and Missouri River.

StreamStats is a digital, map-based tool designed to provide information about streamflow and the upstream watershed of any selected point on a stream. The tool can assist in water resources planning and management and support engineering and design projects. In Wyoming, the current capabilities of the application are basin delineations and basin-characteristics.

The Vermilion River is a major tributary to the Lower Clark Fork River in the northwest corner of Montana and is designated as critical habitat for migratory bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Historic placer, hydraulic, and dredge mining and large-scale clearcutting (via commercial forestry) in the upper portion of the Vermilion River drainage have degraded the river habitat, increased the...

The USGS WY-MT Water Science Center operates streamgages in the Snake River Basin in Wyoming that report streamflow in the mainstem of the Snake River and tributary streams. During the spring of 2022, in cooperation with the Teton Conservation District, thermistors were installed at six sites in the basin to record and report water temperature data. There are currently 12 sites in the basin that...

The Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes seek an increased scientific understanding of the water resources within the Fort Peck Reservation of northeastern Montana. Hydrologic information is needed to make informed water management decisions, including the monitoring of instream flows established in the Fort Peck Indian Reservation Water Rights Compact with the State of Montana. The Fort Peck...