Engineering study looks at long-term water solutions for East Yellowstone residents

If you live east of the Yellowstone River in Richland County, near Theil Subdivision or the Rau School neighborhood, water is a commodity. Most folks in this area rely on individual wells or small water systems. When those wells work, life flows smoothly. When the wells malfunction, it becomes a real problem in a hurry.

The East Yellowstone River Preliminary Engineering Report, or PER, is a planning effort to look at whether bringing treated water to this area is logical for the people who live here.

Let’s start with the biggest question: What the project is and is not. Sometimes it is easier to start with what it isn’t. The PER is not construction, a rate hike or a promise of anything. It is a study to answer one basic question: do the people of this area need a more reliable long-term drinking water solution?

What’s the concern?

For years, some wells in the East Yellowstone area have struggled with reliability and naturally occurring contaminants, including elevated manganese levels in certain locations.

While manganese is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil and groundwater, elevated levels in drinking water can pose health concerns over long periods of exposure. High manganese concentrations have been associated with impacts to the nervous system, particularly in infants and young children. It can also cause taste, staining and discoloration issues in household water.

In addition, the Valley View Water Users Association is currently out of compliance with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) because the system is operating with only one functioning well. State regulations require public water systems to maintain backup capacity to ensure reliable service.

Without a second well, the system does not meet redundancy requirements. If the single working well were to fail, families could be without water for an extended period of time.

This is not just an inconvenience — it is both a regulatory issue and a public health concern.

This study asks whether connecting to a treated, monitored public water source would provide more reliability and peace of mind to the area.

Why it matters

Safe and reliable drinking water is foundational to public health, property values and long-term economic stability. Rural water systems do not have room for failure. When infrastructure breaks down, costs increase quickly and options become limited.

This issue does not affect only individual households. Rau Elementary School, a school serving roughly 70 students, relies on the same water supply. Ensuring safe, compliant and reliable drinking water is especially critical in facilities serving children. Elevated manganese levels and system reliability concerns are not abstract regulatory issues; they directly impact students, staff and the families who depend on that school every day.

Planning before the crisis

Rather than wait for a breakdown, enforcement action or a situation that disrupts service to homes and a public school, Richland County has taken a proactive approach.

The County successfully leveraged a $180,000 WIIN grant from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to complete a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) evaluating long-term solutions. Securing this federal funding significantly reduced the burden on local taxpayers while allowing the County to carefully study options before making decisions.

This approach reflects the same philosophy County Commissioners have applied in other areas of the county.

In 2018, a Sidney-Circle subdivision project helped a neighborhood of 54 water users regain compliance when their water and wastewater systems were inadequate and failing. The Richland County Commissioners also allocated funding in 2022 to improve the Savage school water system due to longstanding unsafe water quality issues.

In each case, the Commissioners chose to invest early, improving infrastructure before small issues became larger, more expensive problems.

The East Yellowstone PER is a study providing the area with an understanding of options before more wells fail or water quality becomes a larger and more costly issue. It gives the community real numbers and information allowing landowners and decision makers to weigh the pros and cons clearly.

The PER is a compilation of facts and data that guide the decisions about future planning to preserve property values and Richland County’s way of life.

Public input meeting

The public is invited to attend a open house to learn more about the East Yellowstone PER. An open house will be held March 29 from 2-4 p.m. (MT) at Rau Elementary School. Residents are encouraged to attend, learn about the PER and ask questions to help clarify the process and goals.