Broadwater County reviews water-rights, storage and cost options for Wheatland and Rolling Glen

Broadwater County commissioners and outside consultants reviewed a preliminary engineering report on water supply alternatives and mitigation options for the Wheatland commercial core and the Rolling Glen planned unit development during a county meeting to discuss a Community Technical Assistance Program (CTEP) project.

The engineering team said the study focused on a 20-year demand horizon drawn from the county's 2024 growth-policy land-use map and that securing water rights and mitigation will determine whether and when tanks, wells and distribution mains can be built. "Groundwater and surface water are considered to be connected," said Julie Merritt, water-rights specialist with WGM Group, describing why mitigation is required before the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation will grant a new water permit in the Upper Missouri basin.

The report, presented by John Gass of WGM Group, maps two primary demand centers: the Wheatland commercial core and the Rolling Glen residential area. The consultants examined three broad alternatives: separate systems for Wheatland and Rolling Glen; a single combined system with a strategically sited storage tank; and a phased hybrid that lets each area build modest initial storage and meet in the…