Public Water & Subdivisions Bureau

The Public Water & Subdivisions Bureau regulates public drinking water and subdivision facilities in Montana.  The Bureau’s Public Water Supply Section assures that public health is maintained through a safe and adequate supply of drinking water.  These functions are achieved by technical reviews, licensing, certifications, compliance monitoring, training and technical assistance.  The Section also licenses operators of certain public drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. The Bureau’s Subdivision Review Section reviews applications for proposed subdivisions to ensure compliance with the Sanitation in Subdivisions Act.  In general, this includes reviewing the adequacy of water supply, wastewater treatment and disposal, solid waste disposal, and storm water control systems for parcels of land smaller than 20 acres, and for condominiums and recreational vehicle and mobile home parks, regardless of their size.  Included in this review is the evaluation of water quality impacts from wastewater disposal systems in accordance with Montana’s nondegradation and mixing zone rules

Visit our topic pages to find the detailed information on how these programs are administered.

Bureau Responsibilities

  • Provide technical review and approval of public drinking water and wastewater system design and operational plans;
  • Conduct sanitary surveys of public drinking water systems and provide technical assistance to help systems maintain compliance;
  • Monitor and oversee required public drinking water system sampling to assure the delivery of safe water to the users of the system;
  • Maintain a comprehensive record system for public drinking water sampling results and design and maintenance activities;
  • Provide training and certification for operators of drinking water and wastewater systems;
  • Verify adequacy of water supplies for proposed subdivisions;
  • Review and approve technical designs for water supply systems and subsurface wastewater treatment systems for proposed subdivisions;
  • Review and approve storm water drainage plans for proposed subdivisions;
  • Conduct water quality nondegradation analyses for nitrate and phosphorous discharged from subsurface wastewater treatment systems at proposed subdivisions.