Contrary to claims made by some opponents, the Montana Water Rights Protection Act introduced by Senator Daines and supported by Senator Tester, is not only bi-partisan, but has tremendous benefits for water users both in Lake County and across our state. The MWRPA protects water users and well owners in our county by defining the federally reserved water rights of the Tribes and preventing expensive legal proceedings in the Montana Water Court.

In fact, without Senator Daines’ solution to protect water rights, water users would have started receiving notices from the Montana Water Court...