Parched park flies in water tank for chalet

Glacier National Park is known for its cascading streams and sky-blue lakes.

But even the park isn’t immune to the abnormally hot and dry summer of 2015.

Recently the park flew a 2,000-gallon water tank via helicopter to Granite Park Chalet so the chalet and the backcountry campground nearby will have enough water to make it through the summer, according to Glacier spokeswoman Denise Germann.

The worry is that the stream that feeds the campground and chalet will go dry by the end of summer, so the idea is to capture water now and conserve it.

“What we’re seeing is many backcountry creeks are at levels we see in mid- to late August,” Germann said.

The Flathead Valley has had seven record-setting high-temperature days in June and July.

With low snowpack and severely dry spring, remaining snow in the high country likely won’t last the summer and melting snow is what keeps most high-country streams flowing.

The water tank at Granite Park could be just the beginning.

Germann said park staffers over the next few weeks will look at the water situation parkwide.

Places such as Sperry Chalet also rely on high-country runoff from snow and ice. Even park headquarters relies on runoff: Rubideau Springs, the water source for park headquarters and Apgar, flows from the Apgar Range.