Water to the Desert

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Oldtimer

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I saw something that really surprised me today- a Fire Hydrant out in the middle of nowhere.... :shock:
The Fort Peck Dry Prairie is putting in water pipelines to bring water to residences and communities in 4 counties north of the Missouri River- many that never had a good or reliable water source...And every few miles they are putting in hydrants so the fire trucks can refill if needed in a bad fire...


Hydrant in the middle of nowhere- next to the highway....
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Pipe laid out and ready to be planted...They've been doing prairie land and now doing crop land as the crops are cleared...
Chezney083.jpg


One of the pipe storage areas that were all along the highway...
Chezney080.jpg
 
Some big investor probably got some stimulus money and is taking advantage of socialism to work the capitalist system.
 
1982vett":2hejhzg5 said:
Getting ready to grow houses are they?
That was my first thought. Water first then houses popping up like toadstools
 
Everybody moving to the country so they can make it just like the city :frowns:
 
TexasBred":g7h3wd8i said:
Some big investor probably got some stimulus money and is taking advantage of socialism to work the capitalist system.

Actually not some big investor.....This has been a 10-15 year plan between the Bureua of Rec, small towns/counties, the Fort Peck tribes to try and get Missouri River water to 4 counties of the state, including all the Fort Peck Indian Reservation that have little or no good water supply...Several little towns wells were going dry...
They've been working on it piecemeal for years- getting small allocations thru Congress- but with it being shovel ready- it fit right into the Stimulus/Jobs plan and the Bureau of Reclamation was awarded enough money to complete it now I think...

I signed up for it over 10 years ago- but never thought I'd see it in my lifetime....Also don't think we'll be seeing any major housing developments in this area...
 
Oldtimer":14yelz6y said:
Also don't think we'll be seeing any major housing developments in this area...

That's what a lot of other people in CO and MT said too. Now it's getting like the LA suburbs from what I've been told.
City people moving to the country to get away fomr the city then they bring their laws and ideas to the country and screw it up like where they left.
 
dun":15w1pi96 said:
Oldtimer":15w1pi96 said:
Also don't think we'll be seeing any major housing developments in this area...

That's what a lot of other people in CO and MT said too. Now it's getting like the LA suburbs from what I've been told.
City people moving to the country to get away fomr the city then they bring their laws and ideas to the country and screw it up like where they left.
exactly
 
Can't beleive they would lay out a complete water system for grazing operations and few little cross-road communities....gotta be subdivisions or at least "mobile home parks" in the plan behind the smoke.
 
That part of Montana has NO danger of development. The population in the area OT is talking about has been in a tailspin since about 1920.
I like the area, good hunting and Ft Peck draws some attention in the Summer.
To isolated for almost all people. Then there's the Winters. :shock: :shock: :help: :help:

OT, I just spent a week in your area. Both North and South, went past your place.
MAN! in all my days out there, the country to the North of you is the driest I've seen. South in the breaks looks OK.
 
mnmtranching":3ahbvju6 said:
That part of Montana has NO danger of development. The population in the area OT is talking about has been in a tailspin since about 1920.
I like the area, good hunting and Ft Peck draws some attention in the Summer.
To isolated for almost all people. Then there's the Winters. :shock: :shock: :help: :help:

OT, I just spent a week in your area. Both North and South, went past your place.
MAN! in all my days out there, the country to the North of you is the driest I've seen. South in the breaks looks OK.

Yep-- the old country is getting dry again...Supposed to be 95 again today...
Altho surprisingly there were some pretty fair crops around this year....Hay was short because we never got the June rains.....This country can exist on 10 inchs of rain a year- IF it comes at the right time....

I agree with you that this part of the Great American Desert will probably be the last developed- and the weather plays a big part...Most can't handle the extremes of 30-40 Below in winter and 90-100 in the summer...I've often wondered what ever possessed those oldtimers to stop and homestead here- but I guess the opportunity for many- many of which were immigrants- to finally own there own land was a big issue...
 

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