ROCKY BOY’S/NORTH CENTRAL MONTANA REGIONAL WATER SYSTEM
Rocky Boy’s Reservation and North Central MontanaAbout the Project
The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and the State of Montana, through the Reserved Water Rights Commission, negotiated a settlement of the Tribe’s Water Rights Claims.
The Compact, ratified by the 1997 Montana Legislature and signed by President Clinton in December of 1999, provided a water allocation of 10,000 acre feet to the Tribe from Tiber Reservoir, south of Chester, Montana.
In addition to providing a water supply for the Tribe, the project was also expanded to provide water service to residents of Chouteau, Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, Glacier, and Toole counties of Montana.
Project Details
Date: 2008 – Present
Clients: Chippewa Cree Construction Corporation &
North Central Montana Regional Water Authority
Key Project Elements
- Extension of Staff Service
- Water System Development
- Phased Development
- Water Supply, Treatment, Transmission, and Storage
- WAPA Substation Design
- SCADA System Design
- Instrumentation & Controls
- Hydraulic Modeling
- Water Quality Modeling
- Funding Assistance
Retained for Rocky Boy’s Reservation Core System Construction
On December 12, 2002, President Bush signed S.2017, the Rocky Boy’s/North Central Montana Regional Water System (NCMRWS) Act of 2002 (PL 107-331, 116 Stat. 2859), as the final step in the federal approval process and the beginning of a project to improve the quality of life for the Tribe and residents of north central Montana.The total authorized cost of the project in 2002 was $229 million, to be indexed annually due to inflation.
The system is comprised of Core and Non-Core Systems. AE2S was retained to be the Prime Engineering Consultant for the Core System, which consists of an intake structure, treatment plant, storage, pumping, transmission pipeline, and on-reservation infrastructure to provide water from Lake Elwell to the residents of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
The total authorized cost of the Core System in 2002 was $137 million.
The Core System is being constructed by the Chippewa Cree Construction Corporation (CCCC). The CCCC is a federally chartered Section 17 tribal business corporation created under federal law and tribal resolution tasked to administer implementation of the Core System of the Rocky Boy’s/NCMRWS.
Non-Core System Expansion to Benefit Multiple Counties and Water Systems
The Non-Core System consists of the pipelines, storage, and pumping facilities to deliver water from the Core System to the Participating Systems, including communities, rural water districts, Hutterite colonies, and other rural users in Chouteau, Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, Glacier, and Toole counties in north central Montana.The total authorized cost of the Non-Core System in 2002 was $92 million. The Non-Core System is represented by the North Central Montana Regional Water Authority (NCMRWA).
NCMRWA was created to administer the implementation of the Non-Core System through an Interlocal Agreement with the taxing entities participating in the Rocky Boy’s/NCMRWS project.
There are currently 22 water systems participating in the Non-Core System.
