The Daily Drip

The Lead

Broadview, MTData centers and our waterDrought, aquifers and supplyYour first public hearing4The right to be heard

A well 4,500 feet deep. Two weeks to speak up.

What’s going on

Quantica Infrastructure wants to drill a well about 4,500 feet into the Madison aquifer for a data center near Broadview, Montana, part of its proposed Big Sky campus. That’s more than 1,000 feet below the aquifer the area drinks from. The well would draw about 150,000 gallons a day during construction and about 20,000 a day after. Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality is taking public comments through Oct. 29. Broadview has about 150 residents. Neighbors have packed county commission meetings and gathered signatures for a ballot measure on data centers, which missed the ballot after the signature deadline changed.

Our take

This is what a seat at the table looks like. A town of 150 can’t outspend a developer, but it can fill a room and file comments, and a state agency has to take them in. Montana Conservation Voters wants a moratorium until the state writes data center protections. If a data center is headed for your county, don’t wait for the vote: ask for the water numbers, in writing, now.

Read the original reporting: Big Sky Connection (via Kiowa County Press)

What you can do

1. Ask for the data center’s water numbersGet the words

   To: your county commission. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

   Hi, I live at [your address]. For the data center proposed or operating in our county: how many gallons a day will it use at full build, from which source, who meters it, and is any of it covered by a nondisclosure agreement? Please answer in writing before the vote. Thank you.Copy the words
2. In Montana? Comment on the Broadview well by Oct. 29Get the words

   To: the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

   Hi, I live at [your address]. On the proposed Quantica Infrastructure well near Broadview: how much water will it draw from the Madison aquifer at full operation, how will that be metered and reported to the public, and how will nearby drinking-water wells be protected during drought? Please include my comment in the record and answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
3. Share this storyShare

The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on Data centers and our water. We’ll bring the data.

Today’s Action · two minutes

Ask for the data center’s water numbers

Two minutes, one email. Broadview’s neighbors are getting their say on the record. Yours starts with the water numbers, in writing, before the vote.

To: your county commission. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

Hi, I live at [your address]. For the data center proposed or operating in our county: how many gallons a day will it use at full build, from which source, who meters it, and is any of it covered by a nondisclosure agreement? Please answer in writing before the vote. Thank you.Copy the words

1. Port Angeles, WAWater in schoolsLead pipes1The right to safety

   Nine taps. Three schools. One plan, in public.

   Port Angeles, Washington, found lead above the state’s action level at nine of 91 tested school outlets, topping out at 28 ppb in a high school cafeteria sink. The board approved its fix-it plan Oct. 8.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   The Port Angeles School District tested 91 drinking-water locations. Nine came back above Washington’s action level of 5 parts per billion: six at Port Angeles High School, two at Dry Creek Elementary and one at Roosevelt Elementary. The highest were 28 and 16 ppb at two sink taps in the high school’s cafeteria building. As results came in from May to late September, the district shut off affected outlets and replaced nine fixtures. On Oct. 8 the school board approved the written action plan with no opposition recorded. Designated drinking outlets and bottle fillers now test below 5 ppb.

   Our take

   Port Angeles shows the order that works: test every tap, shut off what’s high, fix it, then approve the plan in public. Kitchen taps were on the list, down to a pot-filler sprayer. Ask your district for the same: which taps were tested, the result for each and what happened to anything over the limit.

   Read the original reporting: The Olympic Herald

   What you can do

   1. Ask for your school’s lead resultsGet the words

      To: your school district. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, my child attends [school]. When was the drinking water last tested for lead, at which taps (including kitchen sinks), and what were the results? Please share the report and the plan for any tap over the limit. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. Bring water testing to your schoolOpen
   3. Check what’s in your waterEnter your ZIP

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on Water in schools. We’ll bring the data.
2. NationwidePFAS, the forever chemicalsBeaches, rivers and swimming water8The right to a healthy environment

   Forever chemicals in 83% of tested rivers and lakes

   A new report found PFAS at 1,329 of 1,602 tested river, lake and stream sites across the U.S., and at all 91 sites tested in Minnesota.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   Environment America Research & Policy Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group pulled together surface-water testing from 2022 to 2024: federal data from EPA’s Water Quality Portal, Waterkeeper Alliance samples, and Massachusetts and Maine state data. PFAS turned up at 1,329 of 1,602 locations, about 83%, and 114 of the 174 PFAS compounds tested were found at least once. In Minnesota, MPR News reports, PFAS were found at all 91 sites, including 39 on the Mississippi River. The report leaves out drinking water and doesn’t compare results to EPA limits.

   Our take

   The authors call it “the tip of the iceberg,” because many waterways aren’t tested at all. You can’t fix what nobody measures. Rivers and lakes are where families fish and swim, and where plenty of towns draw their water. Ask your utility which PFAS it tests for in the water it draws, and check local fish and swim advisories before you go.

   Read the original reporting: MPR News and U.S. PIRG Education Fund (the report)

   What you can do

   1. Ask which PFAS your utility testsGet the words

      To: your water utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I’m a customer at [your address]. Which PFAS does our water system test for, how often, and what were the latest results for each? What’s the plan if any are over the limits? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. Check beach and swim advisoriesOpens the tool
   3. Share this storyShare

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on PFAS, the forever chemicals. We’ll bring the data.
3. Wausau, WILead pipesFailing infrastructure1The right to safety

   A no in September. A 10–1 yes in October.

   Wausau, Wisconsin, revived its mandatory lead-pipe replacement law 10–1 and voted 11–0 to cover homeowners’ share through 2028. 2,866 lead lines are left.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   On Sept. 8, Wausau’s mandatory lead service line ordinance failed 5–6. On Tuesday the city council reconsidered it and adopted it 10–1, then voted 11–0 to cover the private-side costs that state forgivable loans don’t in 2027 and 2028. The city replaced 3,534 lead lines from 2024 through 2026; 2,866 remain. The last two years are estimated at $36.66 million, about $15.7 million of it from grants. Owners who don’t replace on schedule can be fined $50 to $1,000 a day, with a right to a hearing before the Water Works Commission.

   Our take

   Votes change. Five members who said no in September said yes in October, and the city chose to finish by 2028 instead of stretching to the 2037 federal deadline. Finance Committee chair Michael Martens put it simply: “We want to get the lead out of the city of Wausau.” Ask your utility whether your line is lead, and when it’s scheduled to be replaced.

   Read the original reporting: Wausau Pilot & Review

   What you can do

   1. Ask if your pipe is leadGet the words

      To: your water utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I’m a customer at [your address]. On your service line inventory, is my line lead, galvanized, copper or unknown? If it’s lead or unknown, when is it scheduled to be replaced? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. Ask for the repair planGet the words

      To: your city or utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I live at [your address]. How many water main breaks did our system have in the last 12 months, what’s the replacement plan for the oldest pipes, and how is it paid for? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
   3. Share this storyShare

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on Lead pipes. We’ll bring the data.

The Classroom Drip · grades 6–12 · one class period

A well 4,500 feet deep. Two weeks to speak up.

In Broadview, Montana, a town of about 150 people, a company wants to build a data center: a building full of computers that run apps, websites and AI. It plans to drill a well about 4,500 feet deep into the Madison aquifer, an underground layer of rock that holds water. The well would pump about 150,000 gallons a day while the center is built and about 20,000 gallons a day after. One local leader says parts of Montana are in their sixth year of drought. The state is taking comments from the public until October 29, and neighbors have been filling county meetings to speak up.

Talk about it

If a new neighbor wants to use water from under your town, what should they have to show first, and who should get a say?

Student Scientist

Write a two-sentence public comment about a real or pretend project near your school: what you want to know about the water, and why it matters to you. Then do the math: at 20,000 gallons a day, how many gallons would the well pump in a 180-day school year?

Teachers: bring Guardians of H2O™ to your school at aquagenuity.com/guardiansk12.

Today’s water, by right

Every story is filed under one of the eight consumer rights. Today’s edition touched 3 of the eight; each glass fills with its stories. This count feeds the AquaRights Index™.

1. 2
   The right to safety
2. 0
   The right to be informed
3. 0
   The right to choose
4. 1
   The right to be heard
5. 0
   The right to basic needs
6. 0
   The right to redress
7. 0
   The right to education
8. 1
   The right to a healthy environment

Guardian Season · Mar 15 – Jun 5, 2027

Spring 2027 Guardian Season opens on World Consumer Rights Day.

Become a Guardian. It’s free.

Sign the Guardian Declaration and get The Right to Know, the eight rights behind every glass of water, plus The Daily Drip every weekday morning.

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