Courtesy of KJAM Radio
The Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday that the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System will receive a total of fifteen million dollars in Fiscal Year-19 for ongoing construction. This is a slight increase from the close to 14-point-nine million dollars that Lewis & Clark received in Fiscal Year-18.
The administration originally proposed 100-thousand dollars for the water system for the next fiscal year. Lewis & Clark Executive Director Troy Larson said the tri-state delegation worked hard to secure an additional close to 99-million dollars for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Rural Water Program. Because of the earmark ban, the Bureau of Reclamation then needed to allocate the additional funding among five authorized rural water projects. Lewis & Clark received 14-point-nine-million dollars of the additional funding, which was on top of the 100-thousand dollars proposed by the administration. Larson said that they are “incredibly grateful to the tri-state delegation for their hard work to secure the additional funding”. He said that they would not be where they are today without their continued strong support and leadership.
Lewis and Clark needs to award two more projects for a combined close to 23 miles of pipeline between Sioux Center, Iowa and the South Dakota side of the Big Sioux River. One project is expected to be awarded in January, and the other later in 2019. Along with the pipeline, Larson said that before water can be delivered through the line, the water system will need to award contracts for a meter building at Sioux Center, water tower near Beresford and adding pumps to the Beresford pump station. He said these projects will be the first on the list for Fiscal Year-20.