
WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Reclamation today announced an investment of $82 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda in five Rural Water Projects to bring drinking water to areas of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota. The funding is from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to ensure that all Americans have access to clean, safe drinking water.
“These historic investments are going to projects in rural and Tribal communities in need of a clean, reliable drinking water supply,” Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said. “We are pleased to make this announcement which builds upon previous year allocations to fully announce a combination of funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations for rural water supply projects.”
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing much-needed resources to enhance Western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing a total of $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination.
Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed three years ago, Reclamation has announced almost $5.8 billion for more than 674 projects.
The projects being funded through today’s announcement are:
- $9.3 million for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Project to continue field investigations including geotechnical work, as well as advancement on pipeline designs. This builds on more than $230 million previously committed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for work on a large segment of the project to bring potable water to more than 75,800 people in eastern New Mexico.
- $5 million for the Jicarilla-Apache Rural Water System in New Mexico to continue cultural and environmental compliance work. This builds on $27 million previously committed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the design and construction of project components of the previous phase of the rural water system.
- $13.17 million for the Lewis & Clark Rural Water System in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota to support expansion of the water treatment plant. This builds on $152.5 million previously committed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complete water service to the City of Sheldon and Madison, Iowa. The funding also supported two-meter buildings, a pump station and several main service pipelines.
- $7 million for the Musselshell-Judith Rural Water System in Montana for continued pipeline installation, and the planning and design of Phase 5, service to the Hobson community. This builds on $67.5 million previously committed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to complete Phase 2 to support the delivery of water to the community of Roundup this fall. Phase 2 was the largest project segment administered by the Musselshell-Judith project to date.
- $47.5 million for the Rocky Boys / North Central Montana Rural Water System in Montana to plan and design upcoming on-reservation water delivery pipelines. Funding will also be used to continue construction of non-core segments, expanding water delivery within the North Central Montana Regional Water Authority service area. This builds on more than $159 million previously committed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Tribe to complete the final two segments of the Core Pipeline and advance water service to communities such as Havre.