North Dakota Water May 2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ing water infrastructure is an investment in North Dakota's future. "It supports the dream of strong and vibrant rural communities and benefits people and businesses alike." Delores Gerhardt, another Morton County rancher, agrees. When comparing the money she spends on bleach and rust remover, having a reliable source of quality water is worth the monthly investment. "My family's health and our livestock operation are well worth the monthly invest- ment." "We are advised not to drink our water for health reasons," she says, "and our well is unable to pump fast enough to keep up when our 200 head of cattle begin to drink." Thus, the Gerhardts have divided their cattle into smaller lots and moved some to neighboring pastures, where water is also a scarce commodity. "For the last six years we have applied for funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service cost share program in hopes of getting water to at least some of our pastures. We have been rejected ILbecause the program did not have the funding available." Christensen understands all too well the Gerhardts' frustration with limited funding. "A couple of fac- tors affect the rate of construction in an area — available funding, cost per user, and sign -up percentages." Currently, most sign -ups in the pockets of eastern Morton County meet the cost per user and sign -up percentage criteria. The only undetermined factor is funding. "It is not a matter of `if' the SWPP ers in eastern Morton County will receive MWWS water via the Mandan Water Treatment Plant. SWPP plans on serving northern Morton County, re- ferred to as the Crown Butte Pocket, from the Crown Butte tank located west of Mandan. The Crown Butte tank is part of the MWWS. "Service to 15 rural customers in this area will be facilitated through a variable frequency drive (VFD) booster, with water from MWWS," says Joe Bi- chler, a project engineer with Bartlett and West Engineers, Bismarck. Southern Morton County, referred to as the Huff Pocket Area, will serve approximately 95 customers. For construc- tion purposes, it is divided into north and south segments. The north end of the Huff Pocket Area lies south and east of Highway 6, near the KFYR hill. These 13 to 15 custom- ers will receive water through a VFD booster from the current MWWS. The remaining 80 customers in southern Morton County will be served by MWWS's Flasher Tank, located north of the city of Flasher. "We are anxious to begin and complete construction on Phase II of the Medora, Beach, Morton Service Area," says Christensen. "Construction in eastern Morton County is particularly exciting, because it will be facilitated through a partnership between two systems." SWA and MWWS are discussing the best method of pro- viding service to eastern Morton County and are consider- ing three options. One option is to turn the pockets over entirely to MWWS after construction. "This means MWWS would be respon- Leonard and Delores Gerhardt and family. Left to right are: Ross, Delores, Lance, Leonard and Shannon will reach Morton County, it is only a mat- ter of `when, "' says Christensen. "SWPP is partnering with MWWS in Mandan to provide service to eastern Morton County," he says. SWPP will construct the pipeline, tying in to current MWWS appurtenances. Ultimately, custom- 10 sible for the operations and maintenance and would be responsible for reimbursing the North Dakota State Water Commission (SWC) for capital repayment fees." In option two, SWA would become a bulk user from Missouri West. From the point of delivery, SWA would be responsible for the operations and maintenance, billing, and capital repayment. Option three is a combination of options one and two. SWA would become a bulk customer of Missouri West and contract them for operations and maintenance services. North Dakota Water ■ May 2005 -�a . i I