Park flies water tank to Granite Park

Glacier National Park is known for its cascading streams and sky blue lakes. But even the Park isn't immune to the abnormally hot and dry summer of 2015.

Last week the Park flew a 2,000 gallon water tank via helicopter into Granite Park Chalet so the chalet and the backcountry campground nearby will have enough water to make it through the summer, confirmed Park spokeswoman Denise Germann.

Germann said Monday that crews were still working on getting the water tank and filter system fully operational. The worry is the stream that feeds the campground and chalet will go dry by the end of summer, so the idea is to capture water now and conserve it.

"What we're seeing is many backcountry creeks are at levels we see in mid to late August," Germann said.

The region saw record high heat again last week. On July 3 the high at Glacier Park International Airport was 97 degrees, breaking a record set in 1922. On July 4 it was 99, breaking a record set in 1995. With a low snowpack and severely dry spring, the snows in the high country likely won't last the summer and melting snow is what keeps most high country streams flowing.

Parts of Glacier saw rain over the weekend, but not enough to stem the drought. Many Glacier saw .7 inches of rain Saturday night and Sunday morning, but West Glacier saw just .08 inches. Polebridge to the north had some relief, with .3 inches, but it will take much more than that to ease the precipitation deficit for the year, which is over three inches. Rain helps, but what the high country really needs is snow. Snow is water in the proverbial bank and Glacier generally doesn't see snow until early September most years.

The water tank at Granite Park could be just the beginning.

Germann said Park staff over the next few weeks will be looking at the water situation parkwide. Places like Sperry Chalet also rely on high country runoff from snow and ice. Even Park headquarters relies on runoff. Rubideau springs is the water source for Park headquarters and Apgar. The spring flows from the Apgar range.