The International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board is humming along, holding a series of meetings in June between the board, its technical and advisory groups, and the broader public.
On June 2, the study board announced that the IJC had granted an extension to the study, which now has up to one additional year to complete its work. Under the extension, the study board’s work must be completed by June 2026, though it hopes to have its tasks finished before then. This will allow the study board to fully consider the results of its technical work, as well as input from its public, Indigenous and governmental advisory groups.
This was one of the topics of discussion during the study board’s meetings in Lethbridge, Alberta, from June 4-6. The board met with its advisory groups throughout the three-day period, discussing technical issues, modeling, water supply scenarios and the criteria being used in the study to compare scenarios. The advisory groups also met separately to discuss specific aspects in more detail to provide feedback.
The public meeting was held at the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre in Lethbridge. Attended virtually by two IJC Commissioners and in-person by the board and advisory group members, the study board’s co-chairs John Kilpatrick and Al Pietroniro presented on its “lap” structure for the modeling portion of the study.
In this structure, lap 1 is replicating results from models used for earlier studies and deciding on the criteria to use to evaluate scenarios, lap 2 is modeling scenarios developed for this study and lap 3 is further refining and perhaps combining the scenarios being modeled and focusing on the few most promising scenarios. Finally, lap 4 is tweaking previously modeled scenarios, arriving at one or more best scenarios and then evaluating those final scenarios in detail. The co-chairs also discussed the anticipated timeline of events and the structure of the study before taking questions.
“We have a tools-down period around November 2025,” said Pietroniro. “That’s when we’re not doing any more modeling and assessments, we start writing, there’s a public engagement period and then it goes to the IJC. And they will review the report as of January 2026.”
Members of the public asked about potential locations of additional water storage, the extent of the hydrological data being used for the models and changes in precipitation due to climate change.
Beyond these meetings, the study board also toured water infrastructure in the basin to help improve members’ understanding of challenges and dynamics faced by people living and working in the area.
Study board members tour the Perry Family Farm on June 4. Credit: IJC Staff
On June 4, the study board met with the St. Mary River Irrigation District and toured its irrigation infrastructure and reservoir expansion work, as well as agricultural operations at the Perry Family Farm and the McCain Foods processing plant.
On June 5, the study board were guests of the Kainai Nation, learning more about the Blood Tribe Agricultural Project and how the water of the St. Mary River is used on their lands.
The study board is tasked with researching approaches to improve the ability of Canada and the United States to access their shares of St. Mary and Milk River water as described in the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. The study board will look at structural and administrative approaches, such as new reservoirs, improvements to the St. Mary Canal or changes in the way water is apportioned between the two countries. The study board will ultimately make recommendations to the IJC. The IJC in turn will make its own recommendations to the governments based on the study board’s findings.
After the study board’s meetings in Lethbridge, two siphons on the St. Mary Canal failed. These siphons are responsible for moving water from the dependable St. Mary River into the more ephemeral and seasonal Milk River. The US Bureau of Reclamation expects the canal to be out of operation through most of the 2025 irrigation season. But as noted in the study board newsletter, this failure should not affect the study board’s work.
The study board’s next public meeting is in Malta, Montana, on Oct. 2, 2024.
Kevin Bunch is a writer-communications specialist at the IJC’s US Section office in Washington, D.C.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
