399,481 active water rights on the books of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), summarized by county. The state keeps an owner of record for each right, and that is the name a buyer's title work has to line up with.
| County | Active rights | Statements of claim | Before 1900 | Irrigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverhead | 11,982 | 8,606 | 3,200 | 3,594 |
| Big Horn | 5,327 | 2,922 | 1,236 | 320 |
| Blaine | 9,553 | 8,080 | 817 | 863 |
| Broadwater | 4,422 | 2,051 | 656 | 781 |
| Carbon | 7,639 | 3,627 | 1,179 | 1,671 |
| Carter | 9,448 | 6,690 | 443 | 1,124 |
| Cascade | 10,855 | 6,251 | 1,047 | 1,062 |
| Chouteau | 5,417 | 4,541 | 609 | 454 |
| Custer | 7,914 | 3,567 | 451 | 860 |
| Daniels | 1,965 | 1,491 | 21 | 100 |
| Dawson | 4,343 | 2,872 | 66 | 313 |
| Deer Lodge | 2,896 | 1,563 | 662 | 816 |
| Fallon | 3,838 | 2,910 | 50 | 434 |
| Fergus | 12,446 | 8,895 | 1,359 | 1,017 |
| Flathead | 20,801 | 4,374 | 299 | 2,256 |
| Gallatin | 21,306 | 8,154 | 3,468 | 3,757 |
| Gallatin Yellowstone National Park | 26 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Garfield | 6,365 | 4,787 | 91 | 555 |
| Glacier | 2,061 | 1,408 | 72 | 90 |
| Golden Valley | 2,200 | 1,706 | 394 | 273 |
| Granite | 3,816 | 2,348 | 740 | 831 |
| Hill | 4,546 | 3,202 | 125 | 389 |
| Jefferson | 6,483 | 3,027 | 991 | 875 |
| Judith Basin | 5,375 | 4,071 | 903 | 685 |
| Lake | 9,370 | 4,370 | 453 | 1,569 |
| Lewis And Clark | 18,405 | 6,373 | 2,333 | 1,999 |
| Liberty | 1,996 | 1,747 | 82 | 268 |
| Lincoln | 7,732 | 1,890 | 144 | 864 |
| Madison | 12,636 | 7,905 | 3,696 | 3,267 |
| McCone | 4,183 | 2,904 | 84 | 378 |
| Meagher | 5,191 | 4,163 | 1,221 | 1,038 |
| Mineral | 2,236 | 817 | 113 | 403 |
| Missoula | 16,097 | 4,898 | 1,258 | 2,932 |
| Musselshell | 4,114 | 2,333 | 157 | 363 |
| Park | 11,049 | 6,634 | 2,345 | 2,577 |
| Park (yellowstone National Park) | 59 | 22 | 43 | 12 |
| Petroleum | 2,406 | 1,921 | 72 | 275 |
| Phillips | 15,778 | 12,932 | 1,152 | 860 |
| Pondera | 1,833 | 1,402 | 237 | 278 |
| Powder River | 10,661 | 2,626 | 1,331 | 2,600 |
| Powell | 5,810 | 4,274 | 1,750 | 1,624 |
| Prairie | 3,053 | 2,157 | 132 | 308 |
| Ravalli | 23,888 | 8,164 | 4,693 | 6,108 |
| Richland | 4,141 | 1,895 | 50 | 306 |
| Roosevelt | 2,531 | 1,591 | 16 | 254 |
| Rosebud | 7,123 | 5,518 | 493 | 632 |
| Sanders | 5,768 | 2,155 | 181 | 986 |
| Sheridan | 2,616 | 1,415 | 9 | 273 |
| Silver Bow | 3,674 | 1,477 | 417 | 455 |
| Stillwater | 6,737 | 3,408 | 632 | 876 |
| Sweet Grass | 5,910 | 4,482 | 1,225 | 1,204 |
| Teton | 4,662 | 3,381 | 567 | 695 |
| Toole | 2,999 | 2,724 | 126 | 388 |
| Treasure | 1,635 | 1,160 | 36 | 151 |
| Valley | 9,367 | 7,100 | 288 | 601 |
| Wheatland | 2,982 | 2,378 | 648 | 658 |
| Wibaux | 1,642 | 1,089 | 20 | 121 |
| Yellowstone | 11,917 | 2,919 | 224 | 835 |
Statements of claim are the pre-1973 rights that go through Montana's statewide adjudication. Counts are by water right, not by point of diversion; a right with several diversion points counts once.
For a single property: every right on it with its priority date, type, rate and volume, the owner the state has on record, and a link to the official record for each one. Same day.
Source: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), public water rights data, provided as-is for information only and not suitable for legal, engineering or survey purposes. Verify at the official record. Records last updated 19 September 2026.