Water worries in state

Compared to several states to the west, South Dakota is not even in the conversation of places in danger of experiencing a water crisis.

Arizona, New Mexico, California and Colorado are increasingly in panic mode trying to find reliable sources of drinking water to quench the thirst of growing populations and future generations.

Over its 137 years of statehood, South Dakota has relied on rivers and reservoirs but mostly on underground aquifers to provide high-quality fresh water in quantities sufficient to accommodate slow but steady population, agricultural and industrial growth.

But that comfort level is quickly evaporating, and signs of ongoing or potential water shortages are popping up in all corners of the state.

Among them:

The WEB Water system in Aberdeen has declared several portions of its service area as “moratoriums” in which no further water taps can be added until system capacity increases.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that ongoing drought has lowered Missouri River water levels, potentially affecting barge traffic, hydro-electric generation and recreational activities.

Facing declining water levels in the Big Sioux Aquifer, the Minnehaha County Water Corp. in Dell Rapids has turned away potential high water use industrial employers to maintain service to existing residential and municipal customers.

A 2025 federal geological survey showed that some of the “sub-aquifers” that provide fresh water to northern Black Hills communities are not recharging as fast as they are being depleted.

“Statewide, water managers are seeing this and realizing we need to start making plans now for 40 or 50 years into the future,” said Shane Phillips, executive director of the WEB system that provides 6 million gallons of water a day to nearly 40,000 people and hundreds of farms and businesses in north-central South Dakota.

In response, local, regional and state water officials are pushing forward with water projects that will surely cost billions of dollars and increasingly tap into one of the world’s greatest sources of fresh water and the longest river in the U.S. – the mighty Missouri River.

“There’s a tsunami of water projects underway or under discussion in South Dakota right now,” said Troy Larson, executive director of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System.

The four largest projects include:
Lewis & Clark recently completed its $711 million “base system” that serves 20 communities, including Sioux Falls, with 44 millions of gallons per day (MGD). An expansion to 60 MGD is underway, with a second expansion to 155 MGD planned after that, all with a price tag of unknown billions of dollars.

WEB water and its new WINS cooperative serving Aberdeen and communities to the east has made $20 million in improvements since 2016. The system is spending $82 million to expand its treatment plant and add a new 50-inch pipeline.

Western Dakota Regional Water System representatives recently testified before Congress to seek approval of a feasibility study for a 165-mile, 71-inch pipeline from the Missouri River to Rapid City and more than 50 communities and systems in the Black Hills region. If approved, the project is estimated to cost at least $3 billion and take decades to construct.

The Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System Inc. is also seeking congressional approval of a feasibility study on an ambitious project to pump Missouri River water to almost the entirety of East River South Dakota and parts of Minnesota and Iowa.

The project could include a 96-inch main pipeline and a price tag of up to $10 billion.

Larson said the need for water is being driven mainly by population growth and a long-range drought in many areas of the state.

Major water projects are paid for through a variety of sources. In a typical example, the $711 million Lewis & Clark base system was funded at 80% from the federal government, 10% from the three states serviced and 10% from customers, Larson said.

The state is eager to build new water systems in order to get ahead of other states that could potentially try to tap into the Missouri River as a source for desperately needed water.

“We have one of the greatest water resources in the world, the Missouri River, running right through our state. And if we don’t think of ways to utilize it properly, the concern is that other states will figure out a way,” Phillips said.

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