On February 19, 2026, the Big Sky County Water & Sewer District started pumping reclaimed water out of its storage ponds and uphill to the Yellowstone Club. By March 11, about 7.6 million gallons had made the trip. Most people know the Club for its privacy, its ski terrain, and its homes. Its golf course, a nearby reforestation area, and its snowmaking also form a large part of the community's wastewater disposal system.
This affects anyone buying in Big Sky, inside the club gates or outside them. Big Sky is one of very few zero-discharge communities. None of its treated wastewater goes into the Gallatin River, so every gallon has to end up on land. How much land can take that water, and when, sets how many new homes the district can connect.
What a New Build Pays Before It Connects
Buyers usually run into this system in the fee schedule. Under the district's rates effective September 1, 2026, a property owes a system investment charge for each single-family equivalent, or SFE, it adds to the system.
| Charge, effective Sept. 1, 2026 | Paid prior mill levy | Did not pay prior mill levy |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer system investment, per SFE | $9,400 | $9,962 |
| Water system investment, per SFE | $3,723 | $3,997 |
Boyne-owned lots carry an extra $3,500 per SFE surcharge, with some stated exemptions. Once connected, the same schedule lists quarterly base charges of $77.40 for water and $136.38 for sewer. Residential sewer usage is billed at $9.71 per 1,000 gallons.
Fees are only part of the cost. The rest is capacity. In its July 2026 operating report, the district recorded five conditionally approved new-build permits and no Will Serve or Capacity Letters for that period. A lot's value depends on the system's ability to serve it, and that ability comes from a chain of agreements and ponds that reaches into the private clubs.
Where the Water Goes When It Can't Go in the River
Big Sky once had another option. In 1998, Montana DEQ issued the district a seasonal permit for limited discharge to the Gallatin River. According to the district's own history, the pipeline was never built and the permit was never used.
The district went with land instead. A 2001 agreement with the Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks, and related developments allocated wastewater capacity, backed by storage and reuse on land. The agreement requires disposal of up to 160 million gallons per year on developer-owned land. In 2024 it was updated to count snowmaking as approved reuse, after 21 million gallons of treated wastewater went into snowmaking during the 2023–24 ski season.
The water now comes from the community's Water Resource Recovery Facility, a roughly $50 million plant that treats to the state's Class A-1 standard. Explore Big Sky reported that Yellowstone Club representatives put the facility's share of the Club's irrigation water at about 80%. The remaining 20% comes from the Club's own treatment plant, which also treats to Class A-1. A January 2026 pre-trial filing described the water irrigating the Club's golf course and a 36-acre reforestation area.
In February 2026, a federal jury unanimously found that the Club did not "discharge a pollutant to navigable waters from a point source," which closed a case filed in July 2023. The plaintiff had asked for a moratorium on construction until the Club adopted a new wastewater disposal plan. With the case dismissed, the court will pursue none of the requested outcomes. For buyers, the verdict confirmed the existing setup. Club land remains a working outlet for the community's reclaimed water.
How the Loop Runs Through a Year
The district's 2026 reports show how the system moves through the seasons. The ponds hold water until there's somewhere to send it.
- February 19, 2026. The reuse season opened with reclaimed water pumped to the Yellowstone Club.
- May 2026. Irrigation began at the Big Sky Resort Golf Course.
- June 4, 2026. Deliveries to Spanish Peaks began.
- July 2026. Pond 1 stood at 3.5 feet and Pond 3 at 10.25 feet, leaving about 55 million gallons of storage open, roughly 70% of the total.
The same July report described a software malfunction affecting the plant's process blowers. It briefly pushed effluent total nitrogen above the Class A-1 standard, while pond water stayed at Class A-1 and reclaimed water remained available for reuse. Staff traced the cause with engineering firm AE2S, and performance stabilized.
The ponds fill when irrigation stops and empty when the clubs and golf courses can use the water. That cycle is why the 2024 snowmaking update matters. It turned ski terrain into a winter outlet in a system built around summer irrigation.
Phase 1 Is Stretched, and Phase 2 Depends on the Canyon
The current plant has room for what's already been promised, and not much more. At a November 13, 2025 meeting of the Big Sky Resort Area District, the resort tax board, district chair Brian Wheeler said Phase 1 is stretched thin by planned development. He said current commitments will be met, but a second phase will be needed for the new water and sewer district forming in Firelight Meadows. Explore Big Sky's account of that meeting also recorded district board member Al Malinowski connecting Phase 2 to a separate project.
"Without the canyon [sewer], I don't know if you can justify creating 7,500 SFEs with phase two of the WRRF, and if that doesn't happen, we've got a challenge on our hands."
The 7,500 figure is the planned capacity of Phase 2. It isn't capacity that's still available today. No published count of uncommitted SFEs turned up in the district's 2026 materials.
The canyon project is a proposed central sewer for the Gallatin Canyon properties that now use septic systems. Its projected cost has grown to about $50 million. As of March 2026, Explore Big Sky reported $12 million set aside from the infrastructure tax, $1.4 million already invested by BSRAD, and a $200,000 annual commitment. Project leaders saw at least another $10 million financing gap. One version of the plan sends treated water downhill for groundwater discharge and irrigation instead of pumping it uphill, which leaders estimated could save more than $10 million over five to ten years. The district's March 2026 engineering update called the canyon project effectively on hold. The same update outlined a refresh of reuse planning and a proposed Firelight Meadows connection with Class A-1 groundwater disposal basins.
Disposal routes are becoming part of the growth question too. Groundwater basins near Firelight or below the canyon would give the system outlets that don't depend on club irrigation and snowmaking. Until they're built, the existing club agreements carry most of the load. Malinowski also said at the November meeting that keeping wastewater out of the Gallatin remains a community value.
The District Line Runs Around the Club
Funding follows a different map than the water does. The Yellowstone Club takes the district's reclaimed water but sits outside the district's customer boundary. Resort tax board member Kevin Germain named the Yellowstone Club and Moonlight Basin as large resort tax collectors outside the district. He suggested that a joint planning subcommittee include other water and sewer companies, such as those serving the Club and Moonlight.
The district's own funding comes almost entirely from about 3,500 customers. A 2020 interlocal agreement split resort tax support for the treatment plant 60/40, based on BSRAD's estimate that about 60% of resort tax is collected inside the district. District officials now believe the figure is closer to 80% or 90%. Malinowski cited a $27 million resort tax commitment to the plant, of which $17 million had arrived by November 2025.
Ratepayers cover the rest. The district's five-year plan, reported in April 2025, proposed a first step of 5% on water rates, 10% on sewer base rates, and 3% on sewer volumetric rates. That would add about $422,000 a year in operating revenue, with further increases expected each July 1 for two years before a reevaluation.
So for a Yellowstone Club or Spanish Peaks owner, the community's reclaimed water shows up as golf course irrigation and early-season snow. For a buyer of a lot in Meadow Village or Firelight Meadows, the same system shows up as SFE charges, capacity letters, and a Phase 2 timeline still under negotiation.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Does the Yellowstone Club depend on the district for its own sewer service? The Club operates its own treatment plant, which supplies about 20% of its irrigation water at the Class A-1 standard. The other 80% comes from the district's facility.
Is there a building moratorium in Big Sky? None has been announced. The district's July 2026 report showed five conditionally approved new-build permits and no capacity letters issued in that period, and district leaders say existing commitments will be met.
Is this connected to well and septic rules elsewhere in the area? They're separate systems with a shared theme. Properties outside the district, like many in the canyon and down valley, run into their own paperwork, which we covered in how water rights transfer in Gallatin Gateway.
If you're considering a lot or a new build anywhere in Big Sky, Julie Blakeley can help you look at its SFE charges, its place in the district boundary, and its likely service timeline before you're under contract. You can also choose Receive Listings in Your Inbox to get new opportunities as they come up.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
