The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has approved a plan by the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, a private residential club that is part of Big Sky Resort, to convert treated wastewater into snow for skiing.
The project will make Big Sky Resort the first public ski area in Montana to utilize powder made from what was once sewage. Conservation groups have praised the approach as an ideal way to use wastewater, especially as the climate changes and winter becomes drier in the West.
Wastewater will be used to create a base layer of snow on Spirit and Andesite mountains, as well as on the Spanish Peaks base area. According to Lone Mountain Land Company, which owns the club, Big Sky Resort will use up to 23 million gallons of treated wastewater during the initial phase from its state-of-the-art water treatment facility. In the second phase, the resort plans to use up to 44 million gallons of water per year.
About a dozen other ski resorts across eight states, as well as resorts in Canada, Switzerland and Australia, also use treated water for snowmaking. The nearby Yellowstone Club in Big Sky became Montana’s first ski area to use wastewater for snowmaking in 2023. For several years, the Yellowstone Club has also used wastewater to irrigate its golf course.
Municipal wastewater is usually treated before being released into rivers. However, Richard Chandler, vice president of environmental operations for Lone Mountain Land Company, said that using recycled water to make snow further reduces environmental impact.
By spraying it through the snowmaking equipment, which mists it onto the slopes as snow, the wastewater is treated again, according to Chandler. As it melts in the spring and enters the ground, it’s filtered a third time.
Chandler also said that the compacted snow on the slopes will last longer into spring and summer, adding water to the aquifer during a critical time and supporting streamflows later in the season.
Several conservation and community groups have come out in support of the project, including Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Gallatin River Task Force, the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators and the Big Sky County Water and Sewer Department.
“Reusing water as snow conserves the fresh water that our rivers and community depend on,” Kristin Gardner, chief executive and science officer with Gallatin River Taskforce, said in a press release. “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.”
The practice hasn’t been without controversy. About a decade ago, a ski area near Flagstaff, Arizona, was sued by a local tribe over environmental concerns about turning wastewater into snow. The Hopi Tribe also alleged that the practice would desecrate a mountain it considered sacred. The tribe eventually lost in court, but during the dispute, some environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, raised concerns about the potential impact of the recycled snow on local aquatic life.
While the Yellowstone Club began using treated wastewater only a few years ago for snowmaking and irrigation, the concept has been explored in the area for decades. In 1997, the Big Sky Water Sewer District first examined the idea of recycled snowmaking. In 2011, the Gallatin River Task Force conducted a pilot study with the Yellowstone Club and the DEQ, which converted a million gallons of wastewater into approximately two acres of snow, about 18 inches deep. Afterward, DEQ adopted new reuse standards for reclaimed water that included snowmaking. In 2020, the club applied for a permit to use treated water for snowmaking. As part of its permit, the Yellowstone Club is required to erect signs warning visitors not to eat the snow.
In a press release, Chandler expressed hope that the Big Sky community and the nearby ski resort could serve as a model for others in the state, particularly in light of a changing climate that is affecting communities reliant on snow for tourism.
“The community of Big Sky’s commitment to being a leader in water conservation has led to this incredible partnership,” Chandler said. “We are seeing less snowpack each year, and I have heard from several ski areas across Montana that are also interested in this technology. I am hopeful recycled snowmaking will become the standard practice someday in our headwater state.”
In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town.
