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Montana water data · Community in Madison County

Alder: well depth, groundwater and water rights

What the public record says about water in Alder: 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 270 public records from MBMG GWIC, Montana DNRC, Montana DEQ, EPA UST Finder, US Census (place boundary)

Wells on record

84

41.9 per sq mi

Median well depth

45 ft

half of wells 40–113 ft

Median static water level

8 ft

75 measurements

Median tested yield

25 gpm

74 pump tests

Well depth

How deep are wells in Alder?

Of 80 wells with a recorded total depth, the median is 45 feet. Half were drilled between 40 and 113 feet; one in ten went deeper than 140 feet and one in ten found water shallower than 24 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
56%
50–100 ft
18%
100–200 ft
25%
200–300 ft
0%
300–500 ft
0%
500 ft and deeper
1%

Static water level

8 ft

median depth to water at rest · half between 6 and 10 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

25 gpm

median tested yield · half between 16 and 35 gpm

3% of tested wells produced under 5 gallons per minute and 73% 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 Alder

5 wells have been completed here since 2016. The newest log on file was completed June 5, 2023. Records run back to 1872.

What the wells are for

  • Domestic70
  • Stockwater9
  • Public Water Supply5
  • Irrigation3
  • Industrial1

How they were drilled

  • Rotary18
  • Cable16
  • Churn8
  • Dual Rotary5

Drillers filing well logs in Alder

  • Graham Drilling Inc5 since 2016 · 2023
  • Kerkvlist3 all-time · 1964

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 Alder

Montana DNRC lists 174 water rights with a point of diversion inside this area: 65 groundwater and 109 surface water, 166 of them active. The median priority date is 1886, and the oldest claim dates to 1865.

Types of right

  • Statement Of Claim121
  • Ground Water Certificate46
  • Exempt Notice4
  • Provisional Permit2
  • Water Reservation1

Purposes

  • Irrigation90
  • Domestic26
  • Stock25
  • Domestic; Lawn And Garden16
  • Commercial4

DNRC basins

  • 41C174

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.

Environmental groundwater screening

Documented environmental sites in Alder

Petroleum releases

5

0 open · 5 resolved

Superfund program sites

0

none on the National Priorities List

Registered tank facilities

7

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 1998. A property report screens the sites within a quarter, half and one mile of a specific parcel and links the agency records.