New York Times – The St Mary Canal That Opened the Montana Prairie May Soon Dry Up An early 20th-century federal water project irrigated the prairie to create farms and towns in eastern Montana. But it needs a $200 million overhaul.

Last month, however, a crumbling concrete portion of the antiquated ditch system known as the St. Mary Canal collapsed, cutting off the flow of mountain water to farms and towns in a portion of Canada and much of eastern Montana. As the heat of summer looms, water users are worried.

“I want water running,” said Jennifer Patrick, the program manager of the Milk River Joint Board of Control. She was standing at the base of a 58-foot-tall concrete ramp called Drop 5, now a tangle of broken concrete and rebar. “It’s the lifeline for farms and towns,” she said. “There is no backup.”

By Jim Robbins