Sioux Center, Iowa — The drought has taken a toll in northwest Iowa, but two communities have found relief through hundreds of thousands of gallons of high-quality water from the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System piped into their communities.
Sioux Center and Hull had been waiting for more than 30 years for their hookups to the system. They celebrated Tuesday with ribbon cuttings, where Lewis & Clark Executive Director Troy Larson talked about getting the project to this point.
Larson says adding Lewis & Clark water, which comes from the Missouri River and an aquifer will be transformational for the communities of Sioux Center and Hull. Sioux Center will receive 600 thousand gallons each day, while Hull will receive 400 thousand gallons a day to blend with their current water supply. There were originally 59 communities that signed up for the project in 1993 — but the latest two bring the total hooked up to 20.
Larson says the project is working on expanding the system from producing 40 million gallons per day to 60 million gallons by 2031. Congressman Randy Feenstra grew up in Hull, and served on the Lewis & Clark board for seven-and-a-half years. He recalled the condition of the water in his hometown was so bad they gave visitors a warning.
Feenstra also recalls the meeting when funding plans were made known.
Feenstra commends all those involved in connecting the 377 miles of pipe that were laid and the additional infrastructure. The remaining communities to be connected to the service include Sheldon, which should be connected to the system late this year or early next year; Madison, South Dakota should be connected in the middle of 2024; and Sibley should be connected in late 2024 or early 2025.
