Rural Heritage December 2025/January 2026

vision of piping Scotty Spring water to the ranch house, persistent drought has required ongoing water development. In 2020, Bruce realized that a high point on the Gadiant was still lower than the spring. He and his crew installed a cistern there. They also buried the pipeline to that cistern. These additions enabled multiple enhancements to the system. There is now more storage capacity for spring water to supply the houses year-round when cattle also are on the system. The changes also enabled the last of the houses on the ranch to have gravity flow water from the spring. In addition, there is now year-round gravity flow water for the pastures to the north and west of Chilson Canyon if needed. With the capability of solar pumps today, it is fascinating to ponder how West Scotty Spring, at its lower elevation, might someday be integrated into the pipeline system. Bruce is always watching how his cattle utilize the available grazing on the ranch. Where other ranchers might use fencing to encourage cattle to change their grazing habits, Bruce adds waterers to spread the grazing out better across the landscape. Bruce says, “Ultimately this is a love story about water, wildlife and cattle. I love seeing turkeys and elk and deer and other wildlife utilize the water we’ve made available for our cattle.” 1 Bell, Henry, III, and Edwin V. Post. Geology of the Flint Hill Quadrangle, Fall River County, South Dakota, Geology and Uranium Deposits of the Southern Black Hills, Geological Survey Bulletin 1063-M. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1971, p. 506-7. Jenifer Morrissey writes from Scotty Springs Ranch where she admires the dedication that brought Scotty Spring water to the homes and livestock.

house in 2019. At our new house we have 140 pounds of pressure in the basement. There’s a reducer at our old log house so it wouldn’t pop the pipes there. There’s so much capacity in the pipeline from the spring that the houses rarely run off a cistern, just water in the pipeline, unless there’s lots of cattle on the system. I used to run a rainbird on the lawn just off water in the pipeline. It would eventually run out, then during the night it would start again. It’s surprising how many cattle the spring will water, the spring plus the cisterns.” Today the East Scotty Spring pipeline covers 9.1 miles. It serves five houses, 25 waterers, and seven hydrants. Since Bruce achieved the previous owner’s Bruce demonstrates the water pressure in the spring pipeline that results from 400 feet of fall.

Elk and other wildlife make use of the extensive water system on Scotty Springs Ranch that also serves cattle and people.

December 2025/January 2026

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