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Missoula County approves Fire Bucket Meadows five‑lot subdivision after groundwater study
Summary
After a year of hearings and a 24‑hour pump test with multiple monitoring wells, commissioners approved the Fire Bucket Meadows five‑lot subdivision with conditions addressing water, drainage, wildfire hazards and maintenance agreements; staff concluded tests showed no measurable off‑site drawdown.
Missoula County commissioners approved the Fire Bucket Meadows five‑lot subdivision after reviewing supplemental groundwater and stormwater analyses and hearing public comment on water availability and cumulative impacts.
Staff planner Patrick Swart summarized the record: the 19.82‑acre property would be subdivided into five lots ranging roughly 3.25 to 4.5 acres, with proposed building envelopes to avoid steep slopes and mapped riparian areas. Staff recommended conditions including roadway improvements, a road maintenance agreement, utility easements, wildfire hazard mitigation in covenants, bear‑resistant solid‑waste containers, and DNRC notices of intent for exempt wells under a new state requirement effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The applicants contracted multiple hydrogeology consultants. They used targeted well‑siting techniques to identify a production well (T3) and conducted a 24‑hour pump test averaging about 29 gallons per minute with transducers installed in six or seven neighboring wells. County‑reviewed consultants (Geosyntec and others) modeled aquifer response and concluded the test, which followed DNRC guidance on data logging, showed no measurable drawdown in the monitored wells; staff said the analysis indicated it is unlikely the subdivision’s proposed water use will adversely impact off‑site wells if conditions (irrigation limits, DNRC notices, allocated annual volumes) are enforced.
Neighbors raised concerns about water quality, well yields, and whether multiple sequential minor subdivisions could cumulatively stress local groundwater. Hydrogeologists told the board the local aquifer is complex and compartmentalized, which limits aerial propagation of drawdown; pump‑test results showed steep, localized drawdown in the pumping well but negligible response at observation wells several hundred feet away.
After hearing public comment, a commissioner moved to approve the subdivision based on the staff report, the supplemental groundwater and stormwater findings memo, and recommended conditions; the motion carried on a voice vote.
