St. Mary Canal failure causes flooding near Babb

The St. Mary Canal Siphon breached just outside Babb at approximately 8:45 a.m. on Monday, resulting in some flooding in the surrounding area, according to Bureau of Reclamation information.

The breach caused local flooding and erosion, with some areas resulting in washout areas estimated to be 30 to 50 feet deep. Diversions to the canal were 600 cubic feet per second at the time of failure.

Diversions have been stopped, officials noted Monday afternoon, however flows were expected to continue for as long as 24 to 36 hours while the canal drains.

Emergency response teams and local law enforcement were assisting in response efforts. Bureau of Reclamation officials said they were coordinating with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department, Blackfeet Tribe, National Park Service, Glacier County Sheriff’s Department, and Glacier Electric to limit the impacts of the breach and ensure people remain safe.

“Emergency response teams have been deployed to contain and evaluate the damage,” said Ryan Newman, Reclamation’s Montana area office manager. “Water flows were naturally diverted back to the St. Mary River and helped mitigate the potential for additional flooding in the surrounding area.”

Roads are closed, and utilities may potentially be disrupted in the affected areas. Traffic cones and caution tape have been placed to limit access to potentially dangerous areas.

Residents are advised to avoid the area and follow evacuation or safety orders from local authorities.

According to Sen. Jon Tester's office, the failure caused thousands of gallons of water to flood the surrounding area, and caused extensive damage to local businesses.

“The timing of this failure could not be worse because hundreds of farmers and ranchers are currently depending on the Milk River Project to irrigate their crops,” Tester wrote in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “This is a disaster that requires the immediate and full attention of the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture. I ask that you swiftly work to ensure that the local community and the irrigators have the resources they need to confront the challenges that lay ahead.”

Sen. Steve Daines said he is monitoring the situation.

The St Mary Canal, completed in 1915, diverts water from the St. Mary River to the North Fork of the Milk River in Montana., is a critical infrastructure component for water management in the region and serves 120,000 acres of irrigated land and approximately 14,000 municipal users.  

According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was designed to mitigate events like this by allocating $8.3 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation to repair aging water delivery systems, secure dams, complete rural water projects, and protect aquatic ecosystems.