Water Conservation official talks about current state of Bozeman's water supply

BOZEMAN — Hot weather here in Bozeman has lawns across the city struggling to keep up. Here’s what the Bozeman Water Conservation division has to say about the city's water supply.

"They’re looking good, in short. Our supplies are looking good," says Program Manager Jessica Ahlstrom.

Ahlstrom says that Bozeman’s water supply is mainly surface water and snowpack driven, coming from sources like Hyalite Reservoir and Sourdough Creek.

"We have seen increased demand with the heat that you mentioned. So, if you compared citywide water demand now to earlier this month, it has increased by about 30 percent," Ahlstrom says.

Most of the demand, she says, is coming from lawn irrigation systems.

"There are patches of brown in the lawn now and it would be better if we had some real rainfall. But since we don’t have that, we just water as the city requires—three days a week," says Bozeman resident Don Ballenger.

He's referring to a Bozeman city ordinance passed in 2022 limiting lawn watering to three days a week and at the most efficient times of day.

"I water at night because it’s cooler. And I think the lawn gets better use of the water during the night," says Ballenger.

Ahlstrom says the city tries to educate residents on sustainable water usage, also recommending an "on-off-on" method of watering.

"And the intent of that is to allow the water really to move down into the soil profile, which helps drive roots deeper and ultimately makes your landscape more resistant to dry years or drought events," she explains.

Ahlstrom tells me that the city does have a drought plan in place and that if water supplies begin to dwindle, more restrictions could be put in place.

For more information on Bozeman’s permanent water restrictions, visit the City of Bozeman Water Conservation Division website.