South Dakota water infrastructure
These changes include improving water quality, refining the treatment of wastewater, and more funding to make great strides in the future of South Dakota's water. This is an exciting step forward! But before we dive into the positive, let’s start with the bad news.
Drinking water in South Dakota is sparse. The aging system makes it difficult for the public to drink safely, without risk to their health. Due to the deteriorating infrastructure, South Dakota's ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace is also lacking. Residents struggle to compete in the demanding economy and fear for their businesses. Worse yet, there were delays in funding for South Dakota's water infrastructure. Delaying the investment only escalated the costs and risks of an aging infrastructure system, which South Dakota residents and families couldn't afford.
But there's good news! Government funding recently invested $1.1B in the state's water infrastructure, to improve wastewater treatment, drinking water quality, and repair and replacement of the aging system. That means better public, economic, and environmental health statewide! According to an article from WaterWorld, "More than 90 organizations' drinking water and wastewater projects received the funding, which included $415,243,398 in grants and $687,506,582 in low-interest loans.”
In that same article, Governor Kristi Noem commented, "These projects will serve our grandchildren and their grandchildren. I am proud to support these community investments to ensure the people of South Dakota continue to have clean drinking water and safe disposal systems to serve their needs for decades to come.”
However, with more budget toward investing in the water infrastructure, water utilities and municipalities will be required to provide a detailed, thought-out plan for how to use the additional investment wisely. Informed, actionable infrastructure planning, easily shareable within the cloud, can help.
When the bill for additional funding for South Dakota's proposed water projects was announced, many representatives had a lot to say about it. From U.S. News, ” ’The funding would allow utility providers across the state to launch the next generation of water pipelines and treatment,‘ said Kurt Pfeifle, the director of the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems.“
”It's going to ensure that we'll continue to provide adequate service,” Pfeifle said. ”Making sure that the water's clean, safe, filtered.“ The hope is that this new funding will resolve any drought problems and provide clean, quality water to residents. They plan to pipe water from the Missouri river to certain regions of South Dakota that experience the worst of the state's drought.
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