Homeowners Have Exempt Well Proliferation Concerns

Commercial and residential subdivisions have been spreading across the Gallatin and Helena Valleys like a patchwork quilt, replacing open land.

Concerns range from increased traffic to the loss of open space, but the gravest issue centers on water, both its quantity and quality. Increasingly, longtime residents and senior water-rights holders are finding themselves in conflict with rapid development fueled by Montana’s “exempt well” loophole.

Developers have exploited a loophole in Montana water law to build subdivisions with exempt wells, allowing each home to have its own well and septic sys...