Biden-Harris administration announces $8 million for Lower Yellowstone drought mitigation

WASHINGTON - The Bureau of Reclamation today announced an $8 million investment to boost drought resiliency, efficiency and fish passage in the Lower Yellowstone River.

Reclamation plans to use this investment to repair and upgrade the Intake Diversion Dam bypass channel constructed by Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Lower Yellowstone Project. The agencies constructed the channel to facilitate upstream and downstream passage for the endangered pallid sturgeon throughout its life stages.

"By providing endangered fish the necessary safe passage, this bypass will ensure irrigation can continue through a broad range of conditions, especially drought," said Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. "This investment through the Inflation Reduction Act advances climate resiliency to safeguard the future of both environmental and irrigation water flows and water for farmers."

High water flows through the bypass channel have created significant areas of erosion that need repair. Reclamation has committed to an eight-year adaptive management and monitoring plan for the project to monitor and maintain effective fish passage. The Lower Yellowstone Project provides irrigation water for approximately 55,000 acres of land in eastern Montana and western North Dakota.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes an overall $550 million for domestic water supply projects and $4 billion for water conservation and ecosystem projects in the Colorado River Basin and other areas experiencing similar levels of long-term drought. To date Reclamation has announced 216 drought mitigation and 16 domestic water supply projects from Inflation Reduction Act funding for a total of more than $2.5 billion.