Honest Cattle · Pondera County

Water Rights

Pondera County, Montana

Water Rights & Land Ownership

Pondera County is Rocky Mountain Front country — Conrad is the county seat, sitting on the Marias River bench. The western portion of the county lies within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The Marias and Two Medicine rivers drain east; the federal Sun River Project delivers water to the Pondera Canal Co. service area. About 3,000 active state-administered rights; Blackfeet compact rights administered separately.

3,014Active state water rights
IrrigationPrimary use
1,625 mi²County area
41O · 41P · 41MDNRC basins

Active state-administered rights pulled live from DNRC WRQS on 2026-06-01. Pondera spans four basins: 41L (Two Medicine), 41M (Marias), 41O (Marias main), 41P (Marias trib). Blackfeet Tribal compact rights administered separately from state WRQS.

Pondera County Watershed Map

Pondera County, Montana ← Blackfeet Reservation Rocky Mtn Front Pondera Canal Co. (Sun River Project) Marias R. → Two Medicine R. CONRAD Heart Butte Brady Valier N ~14 mi
Rivers Marias R. Two Medicine R. Pondera Canal Co. Project irrigation

Search Pondera County water rights

Water right format:
41O 12345 00 (Marias) · 41M (Two Medicine) · 41P (Marias trib).
Primary basins:
41L Two Medicine · 41M/O Marias · 41P Marias trib.
Blackfeet Compact:
Federally-reserved Blackfeet water rights senior to most state priorities on reservation parcels.
Sun River Project / Pondera Canal:
USBR federal project — Pondera Canal Co. delivers from Lake Frances reservoir storage.
DNRC regional office:
Havre Regional Office, 406-265-5516.
Clerk & Recorder:
Pondera County, 406-271-4000.

Quick links

Data sources: Montana DNRC, MSL/DOR Cadastral, MBMG GWIC, USBR. Blackfeet Tribal compact rights administered separately. Informational only.

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