Milk River Project
The Lifeline of the Hi-Line
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
Despite the challenging below zero temperatures, the dedicated crews of NW Construction and Pro-Pipe Corporation continue making steady progress on setting and welding the St. Mary Siphon pipe. NW Construction is staying ahead of the welding team by installing the underdrain sections. This side of the hill has proven to be much rockier than the other, requiring crews to break up the rock to install the drains—unlike the opposite side, where the failure had already cleared much of the material away for us. Despite the extra effort, progress remains steady, and the team is pushing forward.
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6 CommentsComment on Facebook
Amazing what team of great minds and hard work can accomplish
You guys are Awesome Thanks for enduring the very cold weather 👏
Good time of year to have a heated cab…
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Did you ever dream as a kid that building with LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, or Erector Sets could turn into a career? Well, for this crew at Sletten Construction Company, that childhood passion has become reality!
Right now, they’re hard at work constructing and setting the form package for the St. Mary Siphon Inlet structure. Each lift of forms stands about 10 feet tall, making this structure an impressive 40 feet high!
I can’t say enough about the dedication of these guys—working tirelessly in subzero temperatures up in Babb to make this project happen. Hats off to them! 👏❄️
Stay warm and safe all. Happy Friday!
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12 CommentsComment on Facebook
We appreciate all you are doing to bring water back to the Hiline
Great job, keep up the good work!
It's so great to see this project keep moving forward!!!! Congratulations to all!! Can't wait to see water flowing to all our area users!
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Despite the biting cold of Montana’s northern tundra, work on the St. Mary Siphon Replacement Project is pushing ahead. While progress has slowed slightly due to winter conditions, construction crews remain dedicated to the critical infrastructure project.
Here's a glimpse of a few things happening this week by these exceptional crews.
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24 CommentsComment on Facebook
Is it possible, with progress continuing, and the potential of completing the siphons, bridge and the siphon intake structure by late spring, to flow water without the new diversion being completed?
Has your funding been frozen?
The Milk River Project How much has been completed to this point?
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Today, Sletten Construction crews are pouring the mud mat slab on the St. Mary Siphon Outlet works. 👷♂️💪 Concrete trucks have started arriving, and this pour will be knocked out in no time!
In the background, you can spot the pipe construction crews making their way up the hill, preparing to tie into this St. Mary Siphon Outlet structure. So far, 90 sections of pipe—roughly 3,600 feet—have been welded and installed!
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27 CommentsComment on Facebook
How many sections of pipe are there for the project?
Mud mat has steel in it?
How many total feet of pipe needs laid?
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one is priceless. A huge thank you to Desiree DuMontier, one of our Pro-Pipe Corporation crew members, for capturing this stunning, cover-worthy shot of the St. Mary Siphon project outside of Babb, MT!
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19 CommentsComment on Facebook
Where is the water going to from this project?
Are dose pipes going east hill keep up the good work you are going to feed Montana
Thank you for sharing this.👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
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Big progress is happening at TrueNorth Steel in Billings, MT. They have been hard at work fabricating the steel needed for the St. Mary Siphon bridge crossing, and things are really coming together fast.
Starting this week, steel will be delivered onsite as the Sletten Construction Company bridge crew begins rebuilding the bridge. Plus, check out the pipe cradles—a unique feature not found on most bridges, but is the key component of ours!
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12 CommentsComment on Facebook
This is great! What is the timeframe for the project to be completed?
This is amazing.
With every update I am so amazed at the progress...Such an amazing project with an amazing team. Thank you for bringing water to Northern Montana!
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