Missoula County continued the preliminary plat hearing for the proposed Fire Bucket Meadows subdivision on May 29, 2025, after extended presentations and public comment about groundwater availability. County staff, an applicant-retained hydrogeologist, the Water Quality District and residents debated whether four additional domestic wells could be drilled on the 19.82-acre parcel without adverse impacts on neighboring wells.

The proposal, from property owners Dale Sparks and Tammy Beach and represented by PCI/BCI, would divide 19.82 acres at 11109 Fire Bucket Loop into a five-lot residential subdivision (approximately one dwelling per 3.96 acres). Planner Patrick Swart told the board this was the fourth hearing on the proposal and that the applicants had provided a hydrologic report from Water Rights Inc. after neighbors raised groundwater concerns.

Lee Yellen, a water-rights specialist retained by the applicants, summarized an analysis of well logs and older aquifer tests. Yellen said aquifer tests near the Wye system conducted in February 2007 reported very large pumping rates (1,100–1,200 gallons per minute) with minimal drawdown at adjacent monitoring wells, and more recent wells drilled in 2023 produced about 15 gpm and 7 gpm. He described bedrock aquifer characteristics—low transmissivity and variable yields—and concluded, on physical grounds, that “water is available without impacting the other wells in the area,” while acknowledging gaps in local data and that one neighbor had a known low-yielding well.

Elena Evans, hydrogeologist for the Missoula County Water Quality District, presented the district’s multi-year study of the O’Keefe–Wye drainage. The district’s monitoring between 2020 and 2022 found heterogenous geology and seasonal fluctuations in groundwater levels; for one monitoring well (Donna Evison’s), depth-to-water increased from about 17 feet in April to about 55 feet in September, a seasonal drawdown of roughly 38 feet. Evans cautioned that some aquifer tests presented in the applicant’s report were from lower-elevation, more prolific parts of the Missoula aquifer and may not be directly comparable to the local bedrock and sedimentary units at Fire Bucket Loop.

Kyle Kravster, a registered sanitarian, explained how sanitation review and subdivision review overlap: sanitation evaluates water supply, wastewater and stormwater for the lot being developed, while the Platting Act allows the county to evaluate impacts to neighboring properties. Kravster said the county contracts with DEQ for parts of sanitation review and that pump tests and other data are typically required by sanitation staff before final approvals.

County legal counsel (John, County Attorney’s office) summarized a recent First Judicial District decision in Broadwater County that persuaded local governments they must address water availability before granting preliminary plat approval. The Broadwater decision is persuasive but not binding in Missoula’s Fourth Judicial District, he said; nonetheless, he urged the commission to treat local water-availability questions as part of the preliminary-plat decision.

Public comment included multiple nearby residents who said wells that once produced according to historic well logs now underperform, and at least two speakers described installing cisterns because their wells did not produce the reported yields. The applicant’s representative, Ron Ewart of PCI/BCI, said the applicants had supplied extensive materials — including recent well logs and consultant reports — and supported further monitoring and pump-testing coordinated with county staff.

County staff and commissioners debated options. Commissioners proposed two primary paths as conditions the applicant could accept: either (A) drill and test four representative wells (one per new lot) and conduct pump testing while monitoring neighbors’ wells to demonstrate both sustainable yield and no adverse impacts, with objective metrics to be agreed by experts; or (B) use hauled-water cisterns (no new wells) for the new lots. Staff and the water-quality district offered to help design a test protocol; sanitation staff noted that a supplemental cistern (filled from a well) is also a regulatory option under DEQ Circular 20 if sustained yield does not meet minimum thresholds.

The board continued the hearing to allow the applicant, county planning staff, the water-quality district and consultants to meet and draft proposed conditions. The parties agreed to try to reach consensus on a set of objective conditions and present them to the board by June 19 so the Planning Office can post the materials and allow public review before the continued hearing set for June 26, 2025. Commissioners emphasized the need for conditions that are sufficiently objective (e.g., minimum pump-test metrics) so the final plat can be granted only if the conditions are demonstrably met.

Next steps set by the board: involved parties will meet to propose conditions for either in-ground wells plus monitoring or hauled-water cisterns; the draft conditions must be posted to the county’s public notice system by June 19; the board will reconvene June 26 for further consideration and possible preliminary plat action.

No preliminary plat decision was made on May 29. The hearing was continued to June 26 so the public can review proposed conditions and provide comment at the next meeting.