South Dakota is tackling major water infrastructure projects
South Dakota, one of the nation’s smallest states by population, is working diligently to upgrade existing water infrastructure to deliver water to its residents. Due to its central location to the Missouri River, other states such as Iowa and Minnesota are counting on these projects for fresh drinking water.
One of the new projects, Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System launched in 2023. Kurt Pfiefle director of Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System signed on nearly 60 members to a pipeline project to carry treated water taken from Missouri River aquifers near Yankton. It is looking at 20 years to build and a price tag of $10 billion.
“It’s a massive footprint that we’re looking at,” said Pfeifle. “If South Dakota is going to continue to grow and we’re going to see more economic development opportunities, we need to have more water.”
