Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System Delivers

Written by: By Patience Hurley, DKAO

Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System water treatment plant. Left to right is Tom Ridley and Tom Thompson.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, along with the Bureau of Reclamation, completed the Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System pipeline connecting the North Dakota and South Dakota portions of the project.

“Construction of the Water Treatment Plant, the new water intake near Mobridge, South Dakota, and many miles of pipe, ensures safe, clean and reliable drinking water for the people of Standing Rock,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman, Dave Archambault.

A public Valve-Turning Ceremony to celebrate this major milestone of the project was held August 24, 2017, in front of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Rural Water Office in Fort Yates, North Dakota.

“Projects like these demonstrate the benefits of investments in infrastructure to meet the current and future needs of the Tribe,” said Dakota Area Office Manager, Arden Freitag. “This project completes a major effort to stabilize the water supply for the communities on the northern part of the reservation, replacing the Fort Yates Intake that failed in 2003 and an aging water treatment plant.”

Prior to the valve-turning ceremony, Tom Thompson, the project engineer, visited several locations throughout the Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System to observe testing on the final stretch of pipeline constructed connecting the South Dakota side of the System to the North Dakota side. Tom Ridley, Operations Superintendent with Standing Rock Rural Water, was conducting the System test and closed off the valve from the old Fort Yates Water Treatment Plant and filled the water tank north of Fort Yates from the newly completed pipeline system. As the SCADA system for the final connection was installed, the old intake and water treatment plant located in Fort Yates, North Dakota were shut down and the new system began serving water to the majority of people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The old water treatment plant will be decommissioned in the coming months as the new water treatment plant becomes fully operational serving the Fort Yates community.

Turning the valve is Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Councilman Charles Walker. He is the son of the late Ralph Walker who served for many years as the Director of the Standing Rock Rural Water System and was an avid advocate for getting water to all the people of Standing Rock.

Tom Thompson inside the Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System water treatment plant explains the advanced water filtration system.

Tom Ridley (left) and Tom Thompson (right) discuss the computer program that monitors the newly operational Standing Rock Rural Water Supply System. This interactive computer program provides real-time information on each of the System components.

(L to R) Operations Superintendent Standing Rock Water Tom Ridley, Steve Willard, DKAO Project Engineer Tom Thompson, DKAO Area Manager Arden Freitag, Councilman Frank White Bull, Councilman Kory McLaughlin, Councilman Charles Walker, Director Standing Rock Water Randez Bailey, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault, South Dakota Governor Daugaard’s Representative Steve Emery, Bartlett and West Senior Project Manager Doug Mund.

Published on January 12, 2018