Montana State Legislature

Tour of the North Hills, Helena Valley

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Members of the Water Policy Interim Committee toured the North Hills in the Helena Valley as part of its May meeting. Many of the issues discussed by the WPIC are present in this area of the valley. The area has been proposed for development and at one time was declared a controlled ground water area. The area is also being studied as part of the Ground Water Investigation Program at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Increasing ground water development by subdivisions in this area raises the concerns of impacts to water rights holders by declining water levels, and possible impacts from the use of individual septic systems in dense housing developments.

 

 

WPIC Vice Chairman David E. Wanzenried, left, and John Wheaton of the Ground Water Investigation Program, in the North Star Subdivision. The Helena Valley development uses community water and wastewater systems.	WPIC Chairman Walt McNutt, foreground left, talks with Steve Kilbreath, Subdivision Section Supervisor of the DEQ in the North Star Subdivision in the Helena Valley. The WPIC toured an area that is home to both individual wells and septic systems as well as community water and wastewater systems.

Photos by Joe Kolman, WPIC Staff