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Montana water data · City in Lake County

Polson: well depth, groundwater and water rights

What the public record says about water in Polson: 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 369 public records from MBMG GWIC, Montana DNRC, Montana DEQ, EPA SEMS, EPA UST Finder, US Census (place boundary)

Wells on record

157

35 per sq mi

Median well depth

84 ft

half of wells 35–202 ft

Median static water level

26 ft

103 measurements

Median tested yield

60 gpm

61 pump tests

Well depth

How deep are wells in Polson?

Of 128 wells with a recorded total depth, the median is 84 feet. Half were drilled between 35 and 202 feet; one in ten went deeper than 409 feet and one in ten found water shallower than 23 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
41%
50–100 ft
15%
100–200 ft
20%
200–300 ft
10%
300–500 ft
9%
500 ft and deeper
6%

Static water level

26 ft

median depth to water at rest · half between 12 and 72 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

60 gpm

median tested yield · half between 30 and 150 gpm

5% of tested wells produced under 5 gallons per minute and 85% 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 Polson

26 wells have been completed here since 2016. The newest log on file was completed September 30, 2024. Records run back to 1912.

What the wells are for

  • Monitoring85
  • Domestic35
  • Public Water Supply18
  • Other10
  • Irrigation5

How they were drilled

  • Hollowstem Auger61
  • Rotary29
  • Forward Rotary11
  • Cable9

Drillers filing well logs in Polson

  • Oh Well Drilling And Pump7 since 2016 · 2021
  • Ace Drilling5 since 2016 · 2024
  • West Central Environmental Consultants5 since 2016 · 2022
  • Haz Tech Drilling Inc4 since 2016 · 2018
  • Okeefe Drilling Co3 since 2016 · 2018
  • Liberty Drilling & Pump Co16 all-time · 2003
  • Unknown8 all-time · 1962
  • Castlio Drilling7 all-time · 2001

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 Polson

Montana DNRC lists 115 water rights with a point of diversion inside this area: 68 groundwater and 47 surface water, 90 of them active. The median priority date is 1974, and the oldest claim dates to 1912.

Types of right

  • Statement Of Claim51
  • Ground Water Certificate26
  • Provisional Permit17
  • Registration Certificate15
  • Exempt Notice5

Purposes

  • Domestic34
  • Lawn And Garden22
  • Irrigation12
  • Multiple Domestic10
  • Stock7

DNRC basins

  • 76LJ91
  • 76L24

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 Polson 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.

  • Alluvium (pleistocene)21 wells · 42% · median 268 ft
  • Glacial Drift17 wells · 34% · median 123 ft
  • Ravalli Group7 wells · 14% · median 370 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 Polson

Petroleum releases

43

10 open · 33 resolved

Superfund program sites

1

none on the National Priorities List

Registered tank facilities

53

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 2020. A property report screens the sites within a quarter, half and one mile of a specific parcel and links the agency records.