Tea, SD — We’re one step closer to getting Missouri River aquifer water in Sheldon, Sioux Center, Hull, and Sibley through the Lewis & Clark pipeline.
According to Lewis & Clark Regional Water System Executive Director Troy Larsen, Lewis & Clark officials were very pleased to learn that the Biden Administration’s FY22 Budget includes $9.22 million to continue construction of the project.
Larsen says this is a significant increase to the funding proposed in recent years and is the highest level since $15 million was proposed in FY08. He calls the Administration’s proposed funding a “starting point.” He says the tristate Congressional delegation has always worked hard to secure additional funding for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rural Water Program through the appropriations process. He says, “We still have a ways to go to reach the $17.5 million ultimately approved in FY21 and $18 million in FY20, but it is fantastic news that our delegation will be starting with a much higher number than they have in recent years.”
According to Larsen, based on the funding approved through FY21, Lewis & Clark has the ability to complete approximately 86 percent of the construction. He says FY22 funding will be used for the construction of infrastructure between Hull and Sheldon in Iowa, as well as to complete the design and secure easements for the Sibley service line.
In addition, he says Lewis & Clark’s board has awarded a $2.3 million contract to D.W. Proehl of Sioux Falls that includes three components – a meter building at Sioux Center, expansion of the existing meter building at Hull, and adding pumps to the pump station at Beresford.
He says that along with the construction currently underway on the pipeline between Beresford and Hull and the 2.5 million-gallon water tower at Beresford, this is the last contract Lewis & Clark needed to award in order to deliver water to Sioux Center and Hull. He says they expect to be able to deliver water to both communities by early 2023.
