The Dry Redwater Regional Authority (DRWA) has asked the Richland County Commissioners to fund a portion of the DRWA rural water system. Without this funding, the project will go on hold for several years due to new government regulations and required paperwork. Brian Milne, Interstate Engineering president, Sidney, the consulting firm assisting DRWA in its efforts to provide water for rural residents, explains that if the county provides funding, the project can begin construction as early as next spring.
“The DRWA regional authority wants the Richland County Commissioners to commit $450,000 at this time to do a design of one segment of the project, a line from Sidney to Lambert,” Milne says. “We chose the Sidney-Lambert segment to start with because Lambert has a high energy cost treatment plant for its water, plus we have lots of users between Sidney and Lambert signed up to use the system.”
He continues, “Sidney has the capability and the water rights to serve as the temporary source until the big plant can be built at Fort Peck. The county will have no involvement or liability in the operation once it grants the money, as the DRWA will be responsible for building, operating and maintaining the system.”
Milne points out that in his opinion, Richland County will benefit by the construction of this and future segments of the rural water system. “If the commissioners granted the money for this portion of the project, it would be self sustaining and benefit the entire county,” Milne says. “In most projects of this sort, part of the monthly water bill goes to debt retirement and part of it goes towards operating, maintenance, and replacement costs. If the commissioners grant the funding, the folks in Richland County would not have to pay back any debt.”
He continues, “Another benefit is that this would allow people to put in small ranchettes or acreages which would change the land designation from agricultural to residential which increases the tax base. As well, a rural water system can locate water stations for oil companies, which would control the roads the trucks use. We could locate a fill station closer to the wells which would cut down on wear and tear on the roads.”
The request to the county commissioners for funding has come about as a result of changes in federal government regulations. When the DRWA steering committee first began working on this project in 2002, the committee targeted McCone, Garfield counties and western Richland County as locations for rural water. From 2002-2006, the committee completed all the requirements for the project, including conducting a feasibility study and signing up potential customers. The project attracted more potential users than expected, and shifted the direction of the project. “The project grew in scope during that time period, and by 2006, the majority of potential users were located from Circle and eastward,” Milne remarks. “The committee completed the study and went to Congress for authorization. Once authorized, the committee then planned to seek appropriations, but the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal entity that provides appropriations for projects of this sort, introduced its Rural Water Act of 2006, which formalizes what the Bureau does.”
Because of the 2006 Act, DRWA came to a halt. People had to wait and see what the 2006 Act meant and how it would be applied. “It wasn’t until 2009 that the rules for the new Act came into effect,” Milne comments. “So the DRWA was in limbo for three years. The new rules basically took all the work done on the project from ’02-‘06 and required that we redo it in a new format. To go through the process again means it would be at least 2016 before we can get authorization and appropriations.”
DRWA can speed up this additional paperwork if they can find a funding source and begin work on the project. “Government funding of rural water projects allows that once a project is under construction, it opens up additional loan/grant programs to help with the building,” Milne says. “DRWA is not yet under construction, but once we get started on construction we can get loan/ grants to continue construction of other segments.”
The total cost for completing a rural water system in Richland County would cost between $30 and $35 million. The DRWA would like the commissioners to fund a total of $35 million over a ten-year period to complete a rural water system for interested households within Richland County, with the caveat that if the oil boom disappears, the county’s obligation to the system becomes null and void.
Milne would like to see the Richland County Commissioners take on this funding. “If we can get Richland County to commit $30 million over the next ten years for rural water in Richland County, we can have the project under construction next year and eventually have all of Richland, Garfield and McCone counties included in the system, but we need a commitment before we can start.”
He concludes, “The project can be built one segment at a time. When building a water system, there is no deadline like there is if someone is building a house or a new facility. The water project is like a tree. It can be built one line at a time, starting in areas where there are the most users. We only build to areas where people want the system and have signed up for it.”
Editor’s Note: The Girard Homemakers Club will host an informational meeting at Girard Hall on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. for anyone interested in learning more about this project. The Homemakers will be serving homemade pie & coffee.
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