The vertical white cylinder is one of many that Amy Yoder with the Sheridan County Conservation District checks throughout the growing season. She opens up the top, connects the data logger inside to a laptop and collects information on the aquifer water level and how much water has been used for irrigation. (Photo courtesy of Keely Larson)
March 17, 2024
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Rural Montana county finds unique way to share its groundwater
Montana is in relatively good shape as far as its groundwater supply goes, something uncommon across much of the country, geologist John LaFave with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology says. State politicians initiated a groundwater study over 30 years ago after years of intense drought and fires and a lack of data. But Sheridan County was ahead of the game: The county’s conservation district started studying its groundwater in 1978, before state monitoring began.