Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation

The CSKT Water Compact is a Tribal-State-Federal agreement to fulfill the quantification of the Salish, Kalispell, and Kootenai water rights as guaranteed through the 1855 Hellgate Treaty. The  Compact was enacted, through the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s signature on September 17, 2021 completes a long journey to passage that included successful passage through the U.S. Congress, Montana Legislature and CSKT’s Tribal Council. Put another way, the compact is finished and is currently passing through the Montana Water Court to achieve a final decree, thus completing the journey of the water compact to completion. 

CSKT created the Division of Engineering and Water Resources to implement the CSKT Water Compact, a large task that required the creation of a skilled and nimble department versed in technical expertise and tribal knowledge, all with a scientific foundation. The Division of Engineering and Water Resources (DEWR) is one of three divisions within Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe’s second largest department. Tribal Health is the largest department. 

This site is intended to showcase and update the ongoing projects directed at rehabilitation and betterment of the B.I.A. Flathead Indian Irrigation Project that serves ranchers and farmers in the Mission Valley. The Compact lays out a schedule of improvements across the 1,000 miles of irrigation canals.