A major regional water project serving northwest Iowa communities is moving closer to completion, but operators say there will still be limited water supplies during peak demand.
The third phase of an expansion of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System is about halfway done. Executive Director Troy Larson says the system won’t be able to deliver 100% of every community’s reserved water at the same time until it’s done. “It should be operational by the end of 2027,” he says. “…We have to get through this summer and the summer of 2027, so we have two more summers that we have to get through.”
Larson says that hasn’t been an issue so far, but the expansion will improve long-term reliability. “We were able to pool our financial resources, our political resources, so think of Lewis and Clark as just a more consolidated way for each city and rural water system to address their critical water needs than each doing it alone,” Larson said. “We feel that we’ve been a trailblazer in that regard.”
The project will cost over $700 million, with about 80% funded by the federal government and the rest split between the states and local member communities. Once complete, the project will allow communities to fully access their reserved water supply. The system serves Sioux Center, Sheldon and Sibley and 17 other communities across northwest Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. The Lewis amd Clark Regional Water System’s treatment plant is located just outside of Vermillion, South Dakota.
(Reporting by Carson Schubert, KSOU, Sioux Center)