 Major Montana Rivers and Streams |
Montana's Water Resources are diverse. Read further for some interesting Montana Water Facts.
- More than 170,000 miles of streams and rivers meander through Montana. The state ranks third in total stream miles in the contiguous U.S (not including Alaska and Hawaii). - Source: Headwaters to a Continent See US stream miles table below.
- Montana contains the headwaters for three continental watersheds: the St. Mary's River, the Columbia River, and the Missouri River. Sources: Headwaters to a Continent and DEQ non-point management plan
- Wetlands and riparian areas (streamside green zones) cover 1-4% of Montana. These places support half of Montana’s plant species and 38% of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals of special concern.Sources: Montana Audubon and 1997 USGS summary on wetlands
- Water withdrawn for irrigation accounts for more than 97.6% of water withdrawn in Montana each year and waters 2.82 million acres.Source: DEQ non-point source management plan
- 43.8% of Montana's domestic water supply is from groundwater and 56% is from surface water. - Source: USGS 2000 estimated water use survey
- Another way to look at Montana's water supply is to say that 38% of public supply and 93% of self-supplied domestic water is from groundwater. ("Public supply" is a water company which may supply domestic, industrial and commercial uses. "Self-supplied domestic" is water for in-home use only but not from a public system.) See NRIS site.
|
Supply in Montana (2000 data) |
Ground-water (mgd) |
Surface-water (mgd) |
Total (mgd) |
|
Public water supply |
56.1 |
92.4 |
149 |
|
Self supplied domestic |
17.3 |
1.29 |
18.6 |
|
Totals |
73.4 |
93.69 |
167.6 |
*mgd is million gallons per day
- The average total home water use for each person in Montana is 100 gallons per day. Source: American Water Works Association
- Producing a typical lunch--hamburger, French fries, and a soft drink--uses 1500 gallons of water. This includes the water needed to raise the potatoes, the grain for the bun, the grain needed to feed the cattle, and the production of the soda. World Wildlife Fund (This is a widely quoted fact, but finding the true source proves to be very difficult. At best it is a rough estimate given the amount of water it takes to make the components of lunch. Consider this fact simply "food for thought.") Source:
- One gallon of used motor oil can contaminate up to one million gallons of water.
-Source: EPA factsheet
|
State Total River and Stream Miles from US EPA state reports |
|||
|
State |
Miles |
State |
Miles |
|
Alabama |
77,274 |
Montana |
176,750 |
|
Alaska |
365,000 |
Nebraska |
81,573 |
|
Arizona |
90,373 |
Nevada |
143,578 |
|
Arkansas |
87,617 |
New Hampshire |
10,881 |
|
California |
211,513 |
New Jersey |
6,450 |
|
Colorado |
107,403 |
New Mexico |
110,741 |
|
Connecticut |
5,830 |
New York |
52,337 |
|
Delaware |
2,509 |
North Carolina |
37,853 |
|
Florida |
51,858 |
North Dakota |
54,373 |
|
Georgia |
70,150 |
Ohio |
29,113 |
|
Hawaii |
3,905 |
Oklahoma |
78,778 |
|
Idaho |
115,595 |
Oregon |
114,823 |
|
Illinois |
87,110 |
Pennsylvania |
83,260 |
|
Indiana |
35,673 |
Rhode Island |
1,392 |
|
Iowa |
71,665 |
South Carolina |
29,898 |
|
Kansas |
134,338 |
South Dakota |
9,937 |
|
Kentucky |
49,105 |
Tennessee |
61,075 |
|
Louisiana |
66,294 |
Texas |
191,228 |
|
Maine |
31,752 |
Utah |
85,916 |
|
Massachusetts |
8,229 |
Vermont |
7,099 |
|
Maryland |
17,000 |
Virginia |
49,358 |
|
Michigan |
51,438 |
Washington |
70,439 |
|
Minnesota |
91,444 |
West Virginia |
32,278 |
|
Mississippi |
84,003 |
Wisconsin |
57,698 |
|
Missouri |
51,978 |
Wyoming |
108,767 |