Teton River Distribution Project
The Teton River Distribution Project was created by 9th and 12th Judicial Districts Court for the 2017 irrigation season. Water users throughout the basin petitioned for the appointment of water commissioners in 2016. In its inaugural irrigation season, the project proved to be a success based on comments received from water users throughout the basin. Public meetings will be held in the October and November 2017 to address any and all issues that arise during the 2017 administrative effort.
This website is set up in a blog format. Chief Water Commissioner Peter Fritsch is authorized to post photos and comments on stream conditions, priority date cutoffs, etc. Water users may post questions to the blog that will be answered as quickly as possible. This website is an effort to create transparency and effective decision making on behalf of the Teton River Distribution Project.
Teton River Streamflow Quick Links
Upper Teton River USGS Realtime Gauge
Middle Teton River USGS Realtime Gauge
Lower Teton River USGS Realtime Gauge
Teton River Below Hwy 221 Realtime Gauge - Realtime
Teton River above Springhill Reach – Realtime
These last three gauges are updated manually by Aaron Fiaschetti on a weekly basis depending on his schedule.
Lower Spring Creek
Upper Spring Creek
Teton River below Hwy 287, above Deep Creek
Monday, November 26, 2018
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Friday, October 19, 2018
Fall Zone Meeting dates, times, and locations
Zone 1 Lower Teton River Meeting
Thursday, November 1st - 6pm at the Search and Rescue building in Fort Benton, MT
Zone 2 Upper Teton River Meeting
Wednesday, November 7th - 5pm at the Stagecoach Inn in Choteau, MT
Zone 3 Muddy Creek Meeting
Thursday, November 8th - 6pm John Henry's Back Meeting Room in Choteau, MT
Zone 4 Deep Creek Meeting
Tuesday, November 13th - 6pm John Henry's Back Meeting Room in Choteau, MT
Zone 6 Farmington Bench Meeting
Wednesday, November 7th - 2pm at the Stagecoach Inn in Choteau, MT
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Zone Meeting Information Post - 1st update
I am working to schedule the upper river meetings and will be reaching out to water users and venues in the next few days. I will inform the Acantha of the dates when they are finalized, post them here, and will coordinate with Lisa on a possible post card mailing.
The plan at this point is for Aaron Fiaschetti to attend the Zone 2 - Upper Teton River zone meeting and present all of his flow data for the 2018 season. Aaron will also attend the Zone 1 meeting in Fort Benton, but not the tributary meetings at this point.
As a result, a portion of the upper river meeting will be open to all zone water users, the Acantha, and the public at large. Jim Bouma was kind enough to provide the Stagecoach for the venue.
Likely, the smaller zone meetings will be held in the back room of John Henry's and not open to the public. A private zone 2 meeting will occur too - either before or after the public meeting at the Stagecoach.
Please contact me if you have any concerns about the details above or suggestions about meeting dates and times. With the exception of the Lower Teton River meeting, nothing is set in stone as of yet.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Friday, August 3, 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Deep Creek and Teton River below confluence video
Teton River Video No. 2
Teton River Video No. 1
Teton River and Deep Creek Aerial Videos
On a side note, all the reservoirs above Choteau are full and most diversions from the river have ceased. Some folks continue to divert water, intentionally or not, but the flows in town on Sunday are largely unabated. The flows should continue to drop during the day, but be aware if you are out and about in the river bottom.
The videos are easier to embed as separate posts, so they shall follow this post individually. First two are of the Teton River and the third is of Deep Creek and the Teton below town.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Zone 2 ROD Amendments Jan-Apr 2018
Amended ROD Jan 2018
Amended ROD Feb 2018
Amended ROD March 2018
Amended ROD Apr 2018
Because of the significant impact to the basin wide record of distribution, I filed a statement about Bynum's rating curve error, including a letter from Aaron Fiaschetti explaining the DNRC's role in establishing and correcting the rating curve.
Chief Water Commissioner Statement