The Sidney herald., 1957-07-04
Law Requires
Recording New
Water Wells

County clerks and recorders ir
each Montana county are being
supplied with proper forms for re-
cording water wells, DR.. Edwin
G.. Koch, Director of the Montana
Bureau Of Mines and Geology,
Butte, has announced.
The recent Montana State Leg
islature passed Senate bill number
8 which requires that every per-
son, firm or corporation who shall
drill or dig, or shall cause to be
drilled or dug, a water well of any
type whatsoever" will file a GER
tain form in triplicate in the Of
flee of the clerk and recorder of
the county wherein the well is To-
Gated. This must be done within
sixty days after the completion of
the well, and will constitute a per-
manent record. In this manner, the
ground water rights of the in
dividual or firm will be protected
if, in the future, critical water
shortages develop in Montana as
has happened in many other parts
of the Western states.
Since the well owner must de-
pend on the well driller to provide
complete and accurate data for
this purpose, Mr.. Juno M. Sahin-
en-, Chief of the Information and
Service Division of the Montana
Bureau of Mines and Geology, has
discussed with the members of the
Montana Water Drillers Associa-
ton, their obligations to the own
er of the well. I
Although not required by this
law, individuals and corporations
owning wells presently in use, are
urged to file pertinent data re-
garding their ground water devel-
opments in order to protect prior
rights to the ground water. Many
of these wells have been in use
for a considerable length of time
and it may already be difficult to
provide complete information re-
garding these old wells. AS time
goes on it will be more difficult
to prove the early rights for these
existing wells. At present there
are few places in Montana where
ground water shortages and prob
lens have developed but with the
rapid expansion of well use in
it Is expected that short
ages and problems will increase.
The importance and value of
large underground wat
err reservoirs cannot be over-em-
phasized. These natural reservoirs
are believed to contain several
times the quantity of water that
exists at any n time in all the
streams, lakes, and man-made
reservoirs in Montana. The states
water supplies in the
streams are rather thoroughly ap-
propriated,~ especially in eastern
and thus, the natural
underground reservoirs constitute
4 last water resource. The lntelll-
gent and efficient use of these I'M
foreground water supplies can sta
oilize and increase the dependable
water supplies of numerous areas.
The Montana Bureau of Mines
md Geology is engaged in a CO.
operative program with the U. 5.
Geological Survey to study and
the location and extent
# the ground water resources OF
Montana. One copy of the form
provided for registration of the
veil water rights will be sent by
he county clerk and recorder to
he Montana Bureau of Mines and
Zoology where the information
provided will add to u knowl-
dge of this most important nat
Iral resource of Montana; another
opy will be sent to the state En-
ineer, and, the other copy will
retained by the county clerk
nd recorder.
Those desiring to secure the !
orms directly from the Bureau
nay do SO by writing to the Blu !
eau at Room 203-B, Main Hall,
1ontana School of Mines, Butte, (
fontana, or by personally calling
t the Bureaus offices.