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Montana water data · City in Gallatin County

Three Forks: well depth, groundwater and water rights

What the public record says about water in Three Forks: 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 295 public records from MBMG GWIC, Montana DNRC, Montana DEQ, EPA UST Finder, US Census (place boundary)

Wells on record

128

89 per sq mi

Median well depth

41 ft

half of wells 20–100 ft

Median static water level

9 ft

105 measurements

Median tested yield

48 gpm

100 pump tests

Well depth

How deep are wells in Three Forks?

Of 112 wells with a recorded total depth, the median is 41 feet. Half were drilled between 20 and 100 feet; one in ten went deeper than 160 feet and one in ten found water shallower than 19 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
54%
50–100 ft
20%
100–200 ft
19%
200–300 ft
4%
300–500 ft
1%
500 ft and deeper
3%

Static water level

9 ft

median depth to water at rest · half between 8 and 11 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

48 gpm

median tested yield · half between 24 and 100 gpm

1% of tested wells produced under 5 gallons per minute and 84% 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 Three Forks

16 wells have been completed here since 2016. The newest log on file was completed August 28, 2025. Records run back to 1900.

What the wells are for

  • Domestic58
  • Irrigation30
  • Monitoring19
  • Public Water Supply11
  • Stockwater8

How they were drilled

  • Rotary48
  • Cable13
  • Geo-probe8
  • Driven3

Drillers filing well logs in Three Forks

  • Red Tiger Drilling9 since 2016 · 2023
  • Pioneer Technical Services Inc8 since 2016 · 2019
  • Sk Geotechnical Co6 since 2016 · 2017
  • Potts Drilling Inc10 all-time · 2007
  • Van Dyken Drilling Inc7 all-time · 1995
  • Hulbert Drilling4 all-time · 1976
  • Morelock Drilling And Pump3 all-time · 1995
  • Bridger Drilling Inc3 all-time · 2015

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 Three Forks

Montana DNRC lists 139 water rights with a point of diversion inside this area: 139 groundwater and 0 surface water, 130 of them active. The median priority date is 1989, and the oldest claim dates to 1910.

Types of right

  • Ground Water Certificate112
  • Statement Of Claim24
  • Provisional Permit2
  • Water Reservation1

Purposes

  • Domestic44
  • Lawn And Garden39
  • Irrigation15
  • Domestic; Lawn And Garden13
  • Municipal7

DNRC basins

  • 41F75
  • 41G55
  • 41H9

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 Three Forks

Petroleum releases

10

0 open · 10 resolved

Superfund program sites

0

none on the National Priorities List

Registered tank facilities

18

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 2023. A property report screens the sites within a quarter, half and one mile of a specific parcel and links the agency records.