NEAR VERMILLION, S.D. (KTIV) -
The Lewis and Clark Regional Water System has a plan for communities in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota to pool resources.
But the Federal government still has to come up with $200-million to complete the project.
South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson on a tour of the water treatment plant on Monday.
The Lewis and Clark Regional Water System took 10 years to get authorized by congress, four years to build the water treatment plant and since July, 11 communities are getting their water.
"We have a long ways to go for the entire Lewis and Clark project but we are more than halfway there in the number of communities served," Senator Tim Johnson said.
But halfway isn't good enough. The 20 communities and the three states have already prepaid $153-million dollars. But with only 11 communities connected to the system, Executive Director, Troy Larson says the 9 others are beyond frustrated.
"What we've been trying to do is impress upon the administration the importance of budgeting for the project in a realistic way. In a way that would allow construction to move forward," Troy Larson, the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System Executive Director said.
"Larson is now asking congress to exclude authorized projects like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System from earmark bans.
"They need more money quickly and without earmarks that is a hard goal," Johnson said.
A hard goal especially, when the president has budgeted 4.5 million dollars for the system next year. Larson says that won't even keep up with inflation.
Now obviously that's in question as to when we are ever going to be able to finish the project because that 4.5 million dollars a year, if that's hypothetically what we are going to get the project will never be completed. We are on a path to infinity with federal funding," Larson, said.
The federal government still has to pay 48-percent of it's share, so the system can be completed.
Larson says of the nine communities not connected, four are in Iowa, one in South Dakota and the final four are in Minnesota.
South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson on a tour of the water treatment plant on Monday.
