The North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The Association’s executive director – Eric Volk – says in the late 1960s and early 1970s, rural water systems started popping up in North Dakota. Volk says at first, the systems were working on their own.
"They found out that they needed a little extra help, and found out that others were doing this across the state," Volk said. "They kind of banded together — local people, needing just a little more assistance to get these rural systems into further development. So they started a state association to help with policy and funding."
Volk says the systems worked at the state level to get some further funding to match federal grants. He says then, in 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act became law nationally.
"So, not only are these systems trying to get water from point 'a' to 'b' across the county, now they also have to comply with some complex rules and regulations," Volk said. "That was kind of the genesis of the Association, in 1974."
Since that time, there has been a lot of development of rural water systems across the state.
"IN 1994, the systems served about 70,000 people across the state," Volk said. "Now in 2024, they serve about 300,000 people — rural areas, small communities, large communities all receive rural or regional water."
And Volk says there is a need for further development.
"There are still areas, pockets in the state, where people do not have good water," Volk said. "There are still people out there in this day and age that are still hauling water. And we need to keep working hard and filling those gaps in our rural areas."
The Association held a celebration in Bismarck.
