The Worden/Ballantine Yellowstone County Water and Sewer District’s (WBYC) clean water project to connect new wells and replace aging infrastructure was halted by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) on February 24, 2026, until WBYC, USBR, and the Huntley Project Irrigation District (HPID) could reach an agreement regarding liability concerns over HPID and USBR irrigation drains. Costs associated with the work stoppage and new requirements for inspections are estimated to cost WBYC $184,500 and may trigger possible project cuts.
The specific issue causing the work stoppage are the liability risks associated with USBR’s unlocatable irrigation drains and who would be responsible for damages to the drain systems should they be damaged during the final stages of WBYC’s water project. At a public meeting between HPID and WBYC on February 19, HPID also expressed concerns of drains collapsing and causing damage to homes which may have been unknowingly built over the drains. The drains, constructed between 1905 and 1928, are the direct property of the federal government, represented by the USBR, and HPID is a local organization formed under Montana law in 1921 to represent district members and manage the irrigation system. In January 1927, HPID signed a contract with USBR in which HPID would be responsible for the maintenance and operation of the irrigation system.
Last month, HPID/USBR began distributing a Memorandum of Understanding to contractors and utility providers performing work inside USBR/HPID easements and ROWs. The MOU issued to WBYC stated in part, “The purpose of this MOU is to formally acknowledge the existence of underground agricultural drain systems within the District that cannot be accurately located and to clearly and unequivocally allocate responsibility, liability, and risk associated with potential damage to those systems arising from Worden Ballantine Yellowstone County Water & Sewer District activities.”
On February 19, 2026, HPID and WBYC held a public meeting to discuss the MOU and the liability risks of the unlocatable irrigation drains. Citing Montana Code Annotated (MCA) 69-4-523, WBYC board members believed they should not be responsible for damages if HPID could not locate the …. Read full story here.
