Rodney Smith’s pivot is the largest connected to the aquifer. The structure in the foreground remains stationary, while the rest on wheels moves around — pivots around — the fixed structure. (Photo courtesy of Keely Larson)
March 17, 2024
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March 17, 2024 midnight
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.