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Montana water data · Zip Code in Rosebud County

ZIP 59012: well depth, groundwater and water rights

What the public record says about water in ZIP code 59012: how deep wells go, where the water table sits, what wells produce, which water rights are on file, and which documented environmental sites are nearby. Area statistics orient you; a property report analyzes the records around one specific parcel.

Updated September 2026 · Based on 648 public records from MBMG GWIC, Montana DNRC, Montana DEQ, EPA UST Finder, US Census (ZIP Code Tabulation Area)

Wells on record

239

1.1 per sq mi

Median well depth

102 ft

half of wells 30–305 ft

Median static water level

21 ft

146 measurements

Median tested yield

8 gpm

160 pump tests

Well depth

How deep are wells in ZIP 59012?

Of 211 wells with a recorded total depth, the median is 102 feet. Half were drilled between 30 and 305 feet; one in ten went deeper than 450 feet and one in ten found water shallower than 20 feet. Depth is set by local geology and position on the landscape, both of which change over short distances, so the spread matters as much as the median.

under 50 ft
33%
50–100 ft
16%
100–200 ft
11%
200–300 ft
13%
300–500 ft
19%
500 ft and deeper
7%

Static water level

21 ft

median depth to water at rest · half between 12 and 88 ft

The static level is how far below ground the water stands before pumping, measured by the driller at completion. It affects pump setting and operating cost, and it moves with season and with neighbouring use.

Well yield

8 gpm

median tested yield · half between 3 and 15 gpm

34% of tested wells produced under 5 gallons per minute and 18% produced 20 or more. These are short completion tests, not sustained-capacity tests; a household typically needs 3 to 5 gpm with storage.

Drilling activity

Recent well drilling in ZIP 59012

14 wells have been completed here since 2016. The newest log on file was completed July 11, 2024. Records run back to 1896.

What the wells are for

  • Stockwater109
  • Research45
  • Domestic41
  • Monitoring33
  • Unused9

How they were drilled

  • Rotary57
  • Auger19
  • Forward Air Rotary4
  • Cable Tool4

Drillers filing well logs in ZIP 59012

  • Higgins Drilling Company12 since 2016 · 2024
  • Askin Drilling2 since 2016 · 2020
  • John Wheaton19 all-time · 2004
  • Drane Drilling Service7 all-time · 1976
  • Mayes Drilling Inc5 all-time · 2009
  • Cdeb5 all-time · 1996
  • Mt Bureau Of Mines & Geology4 all-time · 2002
  • Usgs3 all-time · 1979

Ranked by well logs filed with GWIC, public record only. Not an endorsement, a referral or a paid listing; we have no business relationship with these companies. Verify licensing with the Montana Board of Water Well Contractors before hiring.

Water rights

Water rights on file in ZIP 59012

Montana DNRC lists 406 water rights with a point of diversion inside this area: 159 groundwater and 247 surface water, 377 of them active. The median priority date is 1945, and the oldest claim dates to 1880.

Types of right

  • Statement Of Claim341
  • Ground Water Certificate54
  • Reserved Claim3
  • Stockwater Permit3
  • Water Reservation2

Purposes

  • Stock266
  • Irrigation70
  • Wildlife26
  • Domestic16
  • Multiple Domestic9

DNRC basins

  • 42B305
  • 42C101

Area totals describe the neighbourhood, not any one parcel. Montana publishes no authoritative link between a parcel and a water right; whether a right attaches to a specific property is a property-level question that our reports answer with the DNRC abstract linked.

Aquifers and geology

What wells in ZIP 59012 draw from

Drillers record the aquifer a well is completed in. The units below account for the wells here that carry an aquifer assignment; the median depth beside each is for wells completed in that unit.

  • Tongue River Member (of Ft Union Fm.)118 wells · 67% · median 260 ft
  • Alluvium (quaternary)17 wells · 10% · median 30 ft
  • Fort Union Formation14 wells · 8% · median 224 ft
  • Alluvium (holocene)8 wells · 5% · median 22 ft

Aquifer assignments are the driller's, recorded at completion, and many older logs carry none. Absence of an assignment is not evidence about the geology.

Environmental groundwater screening

Documented environmental sites in ZIP 59012

Petroleum releases

1

0 open · 1 resolved

Superfund program sites

0

none on the National Priorities List

Registered tank facilities

2

underground storage tanks, current and historical

A documented release or site in the area is not evidence that any particular well is affected. Whether a release reaches a well depends on groundwater flow direction, geology, well depth and construction, the extent of the plume and the cleanup performed. The most recent release reported here dates to 1994. A property report screens the sites within a quarter, half and one mile of a specific parcel and links the agency records.