South Dakota scrambles to spend $700 million on water infrastructure upgrades by end of 2024

(UI) – According to South Dakota News Watch, South Dakota water officials are scrambling to spend $700 million granted through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 before a federal deadline.

ARPA regulations require water authorities to create a plan for grant money by 2024 and spend it by 2026. If they don’t, they’ll have to send the money back to be reallocated to other states.

The News Watch reported that $600 million has been allocated to over 200 water and sewer infrastructure upgrades, but that less than 33% has been spent. Lawmakers are proposing that the unallocated and unspent money go towards project that have already gone through the approval process.

Other potential legislative measures include:

  • Senate Bill 66 suggests spending $13 million to update water and sewer infrastructure at state-owned facilities.
  • Senate Bills 7 and 16 would allocated $20 million from various fees and sources to fund various water and flooding-focused projects, including irrigation system upgrades and water studies.

$180 million of the $600 million already allocated has been spent on over 200 water and sewer projects across the state, ranging from water distribution system updates, collection system repairs, waste water system improvements and more.

This story was originally reported by the South Dakota News Watch.

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