Crazy Mountain Ranch is sourcing at least some of the water it has been using to irrigate its golf course from Big Timber, a community of 1,500 people located about 50 miles east of the luxury ranch.
Big Timber Councilwoman Kerri Baird told Montana Free Press in a Tuesday afternoon phone call that the city is selling water to a “contractor who is, I believe, using it on the golf course.”
Neighboring property owners have been curious about the source of the water Crazy Mountain Ranch has been using to irrigate its golf course since large water trucks began appearing on Park County roads bound for the property. Crazy Mountain Ranch started trucking water onto its property about a week and a half ago, after regulators stepped in to block the ranch’s access to water from Rock Creek and its eponymous lake.
In a lawsuit filed July 11, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation wrote that Crazy Mountain Ranch “does not have a valid water right” for the water it has been using to irrigate a golf course it started constructing in 2024. In addition to seeking a halt to the irrigation, the DNRC is asking a district court to consider fining Crazy Mountain Ranch for violating the Montana Water Use Act.
In a July 18 order, District Court Judge Matthew Wald directed Crazy Mountain Ranch to stop irrigating its golf course with the water rights in question until a preliminary hearing scheduled for Monday, July 28, at the Park County Courthouse.
In filings incorporated in that lawsuit, Crazy Mountain Ranch’s attorney indicated that his client had considered trucking in up to 110,000 gallons of water per week from regional water depots to keep turf for the 18-hole golf course under construction alive.
Baird said there is no contract for a predetermined amount of water, but the sales have come out to approximately 27,000 gallons of water per day. She said she anticipates that the arrangement will last through September.
“We’re only selling what we’re comfortable selling,” Baird said. “At any point that we decide our system can’t handle it, we will not continue.”
The pricing framework for bulk water is $14 per 1,000 gallons, according to Big Timber City Clerk Hope Mosness. She said the city has used a similar pricing framework to sell water to Montana Rail Link, construction companies and utility companies. The water utility serves about 950 residences and businesses in the community.
Baird referred questions about potential impacts on the city’s water infrastructure to Big Timber Public Works Director Kris Novotny. Novotny did not return MTFP’s calls.
Baird said Sweet Grass County residents expressed concerns about the volume of water that the utility is selling and a general wariness toward the city developing a relationship with Crazy Mountain Ranch at a Monday evening Big Timber City Council meeting. Big Timber is the seat of that county, while the ranch lies in Park County.
“From what I understand, 27,000 gallons a day is really just a drop in the bucket,” Baird said in response to a question about the withdrawals’ expected impact on Big Timber water users.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average American family of four uses approximately 400 gallons of water per day for residential use.
Crazy Mountain Ranch declined to comment Tuesday on the source of the water it’s using to irrigate its golf course in the wake of DNRC’s cease-and-desist order and enforcement actions by the water commissioner monitoring and policing usage on Rock Creek.
Big Timber sources its water from the Boulder River. According to filings with the DNRC, the municipality has access to a considerable volume of water — thousands of acre-feet. According to a U.S. Geological Survey stream gauge, the Boulder River was running at 284 cubic feet per second on Tuesday, or half its usual volume for this time of year.
In their Monday evening meeting, members of the Big Timber City Council expressed interest in taking up the water sale issue at a future meeting.
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