In the West, a Water Fight Over Quality, Not Quantity

New York Times: It is a strange fight, Montana ranchers say. Raising cattle here in the parched American outback of eastern Montana and Wyoming has always been a battle to find enough water. Now there is more than enough water, but the wrong kind, they say, and they are fighting to keep it out of the river. Mark Fix is a family rancher whose cattle operation depends on water from the Tongue River. Mr. Fix diverts about 2,000 gallons per minute of clear water in the summer to transform a dry ...