Rocky Boy’s North Central Montana Regional Water System
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The Rocky Boy’s North Central Montana Regional Water System is a joint tribal-public project designed to supply safe and sustainable water to nearly 30,000 people across the region. Northwest Pipe Company is providing engineered steel water transmission pipe for the project’s tribal component, known as the Core System, which carries treated water from a new water treatment plant near Chester, Montana, east to residents of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation. The project fulfills the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s water rights settlement allocating the tribe 10,000 acre-feet of water from the Tiber Reservoir (Lake Elwell).
The Core System includes an intake structure on the Tiber Reservoir, a water treatment plant capable of treating 22 million gallons per day, pumping and storage facilities, and a 54-mile Core Pipeline. Dating to 2009, NWP has furnished over 38 miles of 30- and 36-inch steel pipe for the Core Pipeline. The pipe is manufactured with cement mortar lining and polyurethane coating.
The Chippewa Cree Construction Corporation (CCCC) has constructed the majority of the Core System, which will connect to infrastructure shared by numerous non-tribal municipalities and county water districts. Final segments of the pipeline are expected to be shipped in 2024, with the system operational by 2025.
