Program will discharge up to 44 million gallons per year of recycled effluent, enhance base layer on ski slopes
EBS STAFF
On the heels of a similar 2021 approval for the Yellowstone Club, Big Sky Resort is the first public Montana ski area permitted to use treated wastewater to make snow. Operations will begin this fall.
On Oct. 1, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit for Spanish Peaks Mountain Club—a private residential, ski and golf community with ski slopes shared by Big Sky Resort—to implement the snowmaking strategy. The recycled wastewater is “highly treated” from the broader Big Sky community’s new $50 million wastewater treatment facility and will “[recharge] the aquifer, increasing late season water flow, and improving riparian and river health,” according to a joint press release from Big Sky Resort and Lone Mountain Land Company, which owns Spanish Peaks.
Troy Nedved, Big Sky Resort president and COO, stated that the resort has supported the community’s water reuse and commitment to zero direct discharge into the Gallatin River for more than 25 years.
“Bringing this best-in-class water stewardship measure to snowmaking operations sets the standard for sustainable mountain operations,” Nedved stated. “Recycled snowmaking is a science-backed solution that protects the Gallatin River and every community downstream.”
Rich Chandler, VP of environmental operations for LMLC, added that the “incredible” partnership was enabled by the Big Sky community’s commitment to being a water conservation leader. The project required a multi-million-dollar investment by LMLC.
“We are seeing less snowpack each year, and I have heard from several ski areas across Montana that are also interested in this technology,” Chandler stated. “I am hopeful recycled snowmaking will become the standard practice someday in our headwater state.”
More than a dozen ski areas in eight states, as well as Canada, Switzerland and Australia, already use recycled water for snowmaking, according to the release.
“We’ve challenged the Big Sky community to do one thing—raise the bar on water use and reuse and become a model for other headwaters communities across the West. This project meets that standard and helps ensure that Big Sky will remain a zero-discharge community.”
Scott Bosse, American Rivers
The two-phase project will supply base layer snow to Spirit Mountain—a small hill home the Spanish Peaks segment of Big Sky Resort—and the club’s base area near the Montage Big Sky hotel, as well as parts of Andesite Mountain.
Phase one will include up to 23 million gallons of treated wastewater per year, and phase two will nearly double the maximum output to 44 million gallons.
Environmental groups praise reuse effort
The project received support from numerous environmental groups, including Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Gallatin River Task Force, the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, and the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District—28 years ago, the district began exploring the possibility of recycled snowmaking by commissioning a study in 1997.
For more than a decade, the Big Sky community and advocates including GRTF have continued pushing for water reuse solutions, seeking the environmental benefit of disposing treated effluent through irrigation and snowmaking, while conserving potable water.
“Reusing water as snow conserves the fresh water that our rivers and community depend on. Instead of taking clean water from the river or our drinking water aquifers, water is recycled back as snow to the mountains—a win-win for the health of our rivers, and the resort economy,” stated Kristin Gardner, GRTF chief executive and science officer.
Treated water needs to go somewhere, and the Big Sky community faced the alternative of seeking a permit to discharge into nearby waterways, such as the sensitive Gallatin River.
“Big Sky voluntarily chose to forgo an existing discharge permit to release treated water directly into the nearby rivers, as most Montana municipalities do currently, and instead has invested significant resources into pursuing reuse programs,” the release stated.
Spanish Peaks applied for the snowmaking permit in March 2023, earning approval after two rounds of DEQ public comment and a draft permit approval in May 2024.
Since earning a similar permit in 2021 and beginning operations in 2023, the Yellowstone Club recycled snowmaking program was named the winner of the 2024 Montana Water Environment Association Beneficial Reuse Award, according to the release.
“For well over a decade, we’ve worked with local partners to protect and improve water quality in the Gallatin River in the face of rapid development in Big Sky,” stated Scott Bosse, Northern Rockies regional director at American Rivers. “Throughout that time, we’ve challenged the Big Sky community to do one thing—raise the bar on water use and reuse and become a model for other headwaters communities across the West. This project meets that standard and helps ensure that Big Sky will remain a zero-discharge community.”
