Local Water Quality Issues

What's the Problem?

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) decides what water bodies are impaired and with what pollutants. If a stream is labeled impaired, it means that the stream does not meet Montana water quality standards. The stream has levels of a pollutant that are higher than what is healthy for either aquatic life, recreational activities, or drinking water.

In Kalispell, we have 4 steams and rivers that are listed as impaired or unhealthy by Montana DEQ.

Pollutants of Impairment and Impaired Uses

	Ashley Creek	Spring Creek	Stillwater River	Whitefish River
Alteration in Vegetation	X	X	X
Arsenic		X
Chlorophyll-a	X
Dissolved Oxygen	X	X
Flow Modification	X	X
Habitat Alterations		X
Oil and Grease				X
Nitrate-Nitrite	X	X
PCBs				X
Sediment	X		X
Temperature	X			X
Total Nitrogen	X	X
Total Phosphorus	X	X
IMPAIRED USE	Aquatic Life, Primary Contact Recreation	Aquatic Life, Primary Contact Recreation, Drinking Water	Aquatic Life	Aquatic Life