HELENA – The state Department of Environmental Quality is seeking public comment on its biennial statewide water-quality report.
Michael Pipp with the DEQ’s Water Quality Planning Bureau says the report compiles information on water-quality trends and on the protection of surface water and the public drinking-water supply. It also provides an accounting of Montana’s impaired streams, ponds and lakes, and tells of the DEQ’s efforts to set maximum limits for surface-water pollution across the state.
The report is required by the federal Clean Water Act and is prepared every two years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Public comment will be taken until June 10, and the state will then study the draft report for any needed revisions before submitting a final version to the EPA.
Montana has about 691,826 acres of lakes and reservoirs, along with 49,643 miles of perennial streams and another 124,159 miles of ditches, canals and ephemeral streams.