Butte, Mont. – June 11, 2025 – NorthWestern Energy is committed to keeping the community informed as we navigate an expected challenging water year in the Madison River Basin.
Last year’s dry summer and fall left the region with significantly low soil moisture. While this winter’s snowpack was near normal, much of the spring runoff was absorbed by the parched ground, resulting in reduced inflows to Hebgen Reservoir.
To help conserve water, NorthWestern Energy has reduced outflows from Hebgen Reservoir. However, without meaningful rainfall this spring, the reservoir is unlikely to reach full pool.
“2025 is shaping up to be a challenging season of drought on the Madison River, with potentially too little water to fully meet all of the needs in the system,” said Jeremy Butcher, NorthWestern Energy’s Manager of Power Generation. “We are closely monitoring conditions and forecasts, and working in collaboration with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and other stakeholders to explore all available options for water conservation.”
Water from Hebgen Reservoir plays a vital role in managing flows on the upper and lower Madison River throughout the year, helping to protect the long-term health of the river system and its fishery.
“Our stewardship responsibilities require us to balance the needs of many stakeholders,” Butcher added. “We understand the importance of this river to our community, and we are doing everything we can to manage this resource responsibly and transparently.”
Current water levels, flow data, and water temperatures for Hebgen Lake are available at http://madisondss.com/page/dashboard.php. To learn more about NorthWestern Energy’s stewardship of the Madison River system, visithttps://northwesternenergy.com/MadisonDrought.
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NorthWestern Energy – Delivering a Bright Future
NorthWestern Energy, provides essential energy infrastructure and valuable services that enrich lives and empower communities while serving as long-term partners to our customers and communities. We work to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions that create value for customers, communities, employees, and investors. We do this by providing low-cost and reliable service performed by highly-adaptable and skilled employees. We provide electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 787,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. Our operations in Montana and Yellowstone National Park are conducted through our subsidiary, NW Corp, and our operations in South Dakota and Nebraska are conducted through our subsidiary, NWE Public Service. We have provided service in South Dakota and Nebraska since 1923 and in Montana
source: northwestern energy
