Mont. Code § 85-5-206
After the order of the court fixing the fees and compensation and expenses of the water commissioner is final, the order has the force and effect of a judgment against the person to whom the water was or will be distributed and for whose benefit it was used or will be used. When the expenses of a commissioner or commissioners has been assessed against the land for which the service of the commissioner or commissioners has been rendered, the assessment is a lien against the land. The lien has the same effect as a judgment. The lien may be executed in the same manner as a judgment upon order of the court. The water commissioner, at the water commissioner's discretion, may withhold further determinations of quantity or distribution of water to any person entitled to the water until the person has paid all fees, compensation, and expenses of the water commissioner or commissioners fixed by the court and apportioned and charged to the person, including bills sent prior to the beginning of a distribution season. The commissioner may withhold the determination of quantity and distribution of water from any land against which there exists any lien that is the result of lack of payment pursuant to this section until the lien has been fully discharged.
§ 85-5-206, MCA