Montana water data · City in Sweet Grass County
Big Timber: well depth, groundwater and water rights
What the public record says about water in Big Timber: 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 152 public records from MBMG GWIC, Montana DNRC, Montana DEQ, EPA UST Finder, US Census (place boundary)
Wells on record
86
88 per sq mi
Median well depth
66 ft
half of wells 50–109 ft
Median static water level
28 ft
47 measurements
Median tested yield
28 gpm
48 pump tests
Well depth
How deep are wells in Big Timber?
Of 52 wells with a recorded total depth, the median is 66 feet. Half were drilled between 50 and 109 feet; one in ten went deeper than 189 feet and one in ten found water shallower than 35 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.
Static water level
28 ft
median depth to water at rest · half between 22 and 34 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
28 gpm
median tested yield · half between 12 and 40 gpm
2% of tested wells produced under 5 gallons per minute and 60% 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 Big Timber
8 wells have been completed here since 2016. The newest log on file was completed July 25, 2020. Records run back to 1917.
What the wells are for
- Monitoring38
- Irrigation34
- Domestic17
- Stockwater2
How they were drilled
- Rotary28
- Cable12
- Drilled9
- Rotosonic7
Drillers filing well logs in Big Timber
- Birchell Drilling4 since 2016 · 2020
- Okeefe Drilling Co4 since 2016 · 2018
- Sk Geotechnical Co13 all-time · 2014
- Hillman Drilling7 all-time · 2002
- B & H Drilling7 all-time · 2001
- Boart Longyear Company7 all-time · 2003
- Ak Drilling Inc5 all-time · 2013
- I & I Drilling4 all-time · 1980
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 Big Timber
Montana DNRC lists 30 water rights with a point of diversion inside this area: 26 groundwater and 4 surface water, 27 of them active. The median priority date is 2001, and the oldest claim dates to 1947.
Types of right
- Ground Water Certificate25
- Statement Of Claim3
- Water Reservation2
Purposes
- Lawn And Garden12
- Domestic9
- Fish And Wildlife2
- Other Purpose; Domestic; Lawn And Garden1
- Municipal1
DNRC basins
- 43B16
- 43BJ11
- 43BV3
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 Big Timber
Petroleum releases
14
1 open · 13 resolved
Superfund program sites
0
none on the National Priorities List
Registered tank facilities
22
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 2017. A property report screens the sites within a quarter, half and one mile of a specific parcel and links the agency records.