Tour De Bozeman’s Water Treatment Plant
Last week curious community members joined the Gallatin Watershed Council to learn about the drinking water treatment process from source to tap through the annual tour of the Bozeman Water Treatment Plant.
The Bozeman Water Treatment Plant has been providing people of Bozeman with a safe and dependable drinking water supply since 1889! Drinking water comes from local mountain ranges: the Bridger Mountains and the Gallatin Mountains. Hyalite Reservoir, also called Middle Creek Reservoir, and Sourdough Creek flow from the Gallatin Range. The raw water from those sources is treated at the Water Treatment Plant below the Hyalite Canyon Recreation Area. The third source, Lyman Creek, runs from the Bridgers, and is treated over by Bozeman’s iconic M trail.
Our fun facts from the tour:
Water from Sourdough (Bozeman) Creek and Hyalite Creek/Reservoir are mixed together when they enter the plant. No need to try and taste the difference between the two!
In the wintertime, it takes nine hours from when the water first comes into the plant to going through the treatment membranes vs three hours in the summertime to go through the treatment process.
Without water conservation, Bozeman could be facing a water shortage within the next 10 years.
The Gallatin Watershed is a headwaters community. We are the first water users here in Bozeman in a line of water users that stretches all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.
When asked the best practice to conserve water as an individual, City staff replied that watering lawns properly is the most effective way to cut down on water usage.
The tour of the Water Treatment Plant with GWC occurs every year in the late spring or early summer. There is an opportunity to see the opposite end of the water treatment process in the late fall for a tour of the Bozeman Water Reclamation Facility. Stay up-to-date with educational opportunities through the events page or sign-up for the newsletter.
Interested in learning more about the treatment process? Visit bozeman.net and view water quality reports and additional educational resources from the City of Bozeman.
Thank you to the City of Bozeman Water Treatment Plant for hosting an informative tour!
