A Century of Water, One Historic Overhaul

Few pieces of infrastructure carry as much quiet weight as the St. Mary Diversion Dam near Babb, Montana. Completed in 1915 as the cornerstone of the Milk River Project, it catches water from the St. Mary River and funnels it through a canal system into the Milk River — a feat of engineering that, in dry years, supplies 90% to 100% of the Milk River Basin’s water to farms and communities along Montana’s Hi-Line.

After more than a century of service, The Milk River Project shares updates including that the structure is undergoing a roughly $70 million rehabilitation funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, addressing structural deficiencies, improving water delivery efficiency, and adding fish passage designed to protect the threatened bull trout. Every fresh yard of concrete placed at the site extends a water lifeline that has operated continuously since before Montana’s irrigation boom, ensuring the project endures for the next hundred years.

^{All photos via The Milk River Project}