For over 100 years, Silver Bow Creek was used as a dumping ground for mining waste. Mining and smelting companies—mainly the Anaconda Company—released metal-filled water and mine tailings directly into the creek. In 1908, a major flood washed even more contaminated waste from Butte into the Clark Fork River, spreading pollution downstream.
The Superfund cleanup started in 1997 in Butte with the removal of over 1 million cubic yards of toxic tailings from the old Colorado Smelter. The stream and its floodplain were rebuilt to restore the natural environment. This work was done by Atlantic Richfield as part of the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit.
In 1999, cleanup of the next 26 miles of the creek—from Butte to the Warm Springs Ponds—began under the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). That cleanup was mostly finished by 2015.
While major cleanup work is complete, long-term monitoring and maintenance continue to protect water quality and habitat. The restored creek is now home to native plants and wildlife—and efforts are in place to keep it that way. For updates and more details, you can visit MT DEQ – Silver Bow Creek.
