As Ennis Town Commissioner John Way stands in front of the town’s water tank, it’s clear there are problems.
“You can notice that one leak, I don’t know, about eight feet up there, that’s been a problem one for quite a while,” Way said.
The large, beige rusting steel tank holds 535,000 gallons of water. It stands on a hill overlooking the small town. Ennis is a fly-fishing Mecca that attracts thousands of tourists between April and September, nestled in the heart of the Madison River Valley. He pointed to another leak.
“That one was leaking so bad at one time, we had to have a guy come up here and dig a little trench to get it to drain because we didn’t want it to get under the tank and undermine the integrity of the concrete down there,” Way said.
The leaking water tank is part of a major concern for Way. Ennis’ water system infrastructure is failing. And it’s not the only rural town in Montana with infrastructure strained by age and surging demand from tourists and seasonal workers.
Dozens of rural communities are reaching a critical point with infrastructure at risk of crumbling. Many small towns can’t afford upgrades to things like water lines and sewers on their own. They need state funding.
Way says the Ennis water system has been mostly untouched since the late 1960s. Water shut-offs are a regular occurrence in the summers when the town’s population triples.
“That’s when the real strain on our water system comes in,” he said. “And that’s where we don’t have enough source to cover all those people.”
Their taxed water system also presents a fire risk to the community.
“God forbid, a well goes down and a fire broke out in town and it was during the summer when it’s a high use time, we couldn’t guarantee sufficient pressure or or volume for the fire department at that time,” Way said.
The price tag for Ennis to get a new wellhouse and other water system updates is $4 million. But the town doesn’t have that kind of money. It’s why Ennis, along with dozens of other communities, requested infrastructure grants from the state Legislature.
“When I was in Helena for those two grants, all the towns were in the same position,” Way said. “And we were kind of joking about it out in the hallway. We’re like ‘We’re all begging for money here for the same thing.’”
A handful of long-range planning bills under consideration at the state Legislature offer millions in funding for projects that many small towns cannot afford on their own.
Republican Anaconda House Representative John Fitzpatrick is carrying the bills.
“We’ve probably got 48 counties in the state of Montana where the county or the municipality doesn’t have the capacity to fund its own infrastructure anymore,” Fitzpatrick said.
“And so there is a need for the state, basically, to participate.”
In a 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers report, Montana’s drinking water infrastructure scored a C, wastewater a C minus, and stormwater a D. Many towns are trying to fix systems installed 50 years ago. Today, towns contend for a limited pool of funds to pay for fixes.
American Society of Civil Engineers 2024 infrastructure report card
Montana’s Department of Natural Resources looks at criteria like safety concerns and financial need as it prioritizes who gets the water, wastewater and irrigation system grants. Fitzpatrick says the state received 70 projects requesting state funding for these upgrades.
“But the fact of the matter is there’s not enough money,” he said.
Dutton Public works director Jeremiah Kjensmo says they often rank high in their grant applications, in part, because of their size. Dutton has a population of about 300.
“Without the loans and the grants and stuff that the state offers, we’d be in a pretty sad situation,” Kjensmo said.
Kjensmo says covering their own projects would mean increasing water rates beyond what Dutton residents could afford. This is the plight facing many communities in a similar spot.
Ennis wasn’t as lucky this year. They likely won’t get two of the three state grants they applied for. Way says he understands and he’ll work to find the funds elsewhere.
“The reason we didn’t get the grants, not because we weren’t worthy, it’s just because there are so many other towns in Montana in the same boat,” Way said.
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