Milk River Project
The Lifeline of the Hi-Line
Ongoing Projects
Stay up-to-date as structures throughout the Milk River and St. Mary system move through the planning, design, and construction phases.
St. Mary Siphon Failure Updates
On June 17, 2024, the St. Mary Siphon failed, causing significant impacts to the Milk River Project. To stay informed click here.
Wildlife & Recreational Benefits
The Milk River flows over 700 miles creating incredible wildlife habitats, hunting, and recreational benefits.
What is the Milk River Project?
The Milk River Project is beyond remarkable. With over a century of successful operation, this engineering feat diverts water from the St. Mary River on the Blackfeet Reservation, flowing through northern Montana and Glacier National Park, and across southern Alberta, Canada. This project is a testament to the intricate canals, siphons, and diversions designed for a seamless flow of water. The Milk River Project is essential to fulfill Montana’s water demands, catering to eight irrigation districts, Reclamation pump contracts, private contracts, the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, and other living communities along the Milk River. The project has created numerous recreational opportunities for the surrounding inhabitants, contributing to the ecosystem’s prosperity and wildlife habitats. With such a prominent and successful project, the Milk River Project has proven to be a symbol of limitless possibilities.
Benefits to Montana’s Economy
How the Milk River Project has been providing to Northern Montana for over 100 years.
18,000
Residents provided drinking water
1,000,000
People fed annually
140,000
Acres of irrigated lands
700+
Farms
729
River miles of wildlife habitat and recreation
From Our Social Media
Milk River Project Partners
On this beautiful Monday morning, we'd like to spotlight another essential partner in our ongoing efforts at the St. Mary project: A Jay Concrete Pumping, LLC from Great Falls, MT. Their expertise ensures that concrete placement is efficient and seamless, keeping our projects running smoothly. With an impressive fleet of pump trucks ranging from 28-meter to 55-meter booms, they've consistently provided reliable solutions—from precise concrete placement to handling flowable fill with ease.
A huge thank you to the dedicated team at A Jay Concrete Pumping, LLC. We truly couldn't achieve these milestones without your invaluable support!
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Happy Friday!
Before the NW Construction crews get to work burying the pipe, I wanted to share one last bird’s-eye view from earlier this week. With temperatures rising in the Babb area, progress is moving right along and they will be backfilling these pipes before we know it. A lot of great things have happened this week, and we’re looking forward to keeping the momentum going. 🚜💪
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🌱 Spring is Here—And So Is Some Good News! 🌱
Our crews have been working tirelessly through the winter—some logging six days a week—to keep the project on track and ensure reliable water delivery to the Hi-Line. Their dedication is paying off!
🔹 Thanks to their hard work, we’ve accelerated the original September 2025 water delivery timeline to early July 2025—meaning water will be flowing through the system ahead of schedule!
🔹 That said, we’re approaching this acceleration with cautious optimism. Large-scale projects like this can shift quickly, and while the pipe and bridge work are ahead of schedule, the larger structures remain the key drivers of the timeline.
💧 Water Outlook & Irrigation Forecast 💧
While infrastructure progress is promising, water storage in Fresno Reservoir remains a concern. To provide meaningful early irrigation water in May or June, storage levels need to rise significantly. With over 90,000 irrigated acres between Fresno and Nelson, every drop counts.
We have over a month to monitor storage levels and will reassess at the end of April, hoping for a more favorable irrigation outlook. As it stands, current levels do not support a first irrigation option, making additional storage crucial for early water deliveries. We’ll continue keeping a close watch and provide updates as conditions evolve.
🙏 Pray for rain and snowpack! 🙏
A huge thank you to our crews, partners, and the community for your patience and support. We’ll continue to keep you updated—stay tuned for more!
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Another exciting day at the St. Mary Siphon and we had to share it in real-time! Watching the old bridge pipe come out was impressive, but seeing the first siphon pipe set on the brand-new bridge—built by Sletten Construction Company—is on another level.🔥 Now, it's time for Pro-Pipe Corporation to start welding it all together! What do you think? 👀
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{I left the sound on so you can experience what these operators deal with every day—just a little taste of the action!} ... See MoreSee Less
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Concrete placement is both a science and an art, requiring precision and careful monitoring to ensure structural integrity. We're fortunate to have a robust set of quality control measures in place to keep our work within the correct parameters—especially when constructing critical wall structures like our pour Sletten Construction Company did yesterday. We have two companies we would like to highlight from yesterday in the quality control department.
Terracon has been an invaluable partner, providing essential data for years to our HDR Engineering team across environmental, geotechnical, and quality control aspects on the St. Mary Canal. We’re especially grateful to the Great Falls Terracon office for their expertise in keeping everything on track.
In addition to multiple break tests conducted for each truckload, another key factor in maintaining concrete quality is temperature control. Monitoring the maturity and internal temperature of the heated fresh concrete during curing helps ensure optimal strength development. To achieve this, we've installed COMMAND Center Internal Concrete Temperature Monitoring System to provide real-time insights that enhance our quality assurance process.
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The first wall pour for the St. Mary Siphon Inlet is officially in the books! The site was buzzing with activity today—like a well-coordinated ant hill of progress. Huge thanks to the hardworking crews from Sletten, HDR Engineering, AJ Concrete Pumping Services, Terracon, and SW Concrete for making it happen. Your dedication and expertise are driving this project forward!
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