The Montana Water Court was created by the 1979 Legislature to facilitate and expedite the statewide adjudication of over 219,000 state of Montana water rights and Indian and Federal reserved water rights claims. The Water Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the adjudication of any and all water rights claims. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Water Adjudication Bureau assists the Montana Water Court in the adjudication of all claims to pre-July 1, 1973 water rights. The Bureau examines all claims pursuant to Supreme Court rules and provides a summary report to the Water Court on each of the 85 basins in the state. Find the article here: https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/as-it-enters-its-th-year-the-future-of-the/article_cadc8083-4b06-5bdb-bc13-ecf33128a393.html
The Montana 2019 Legislature passed HJ 14 Study of Future of Water Court. The bill can be found here:
Stayed tuned to follow the future of the Water Court in Montana!