People in north central and northwest North Dakota who have been waiting for Missouri River water through the Northwest Area Water Supply project could soon start receiving that water.
"We have been waiting since 2002 to get water up to that part of the state — Minot, Bottineau, Mohall area," said Department of Water director Reice Haase. "We're pretty confident that, by the end of this calendar year, we will finally have Missouri River water going into that system, and serving those citizens of North Dakota."
Haase saod the water treatment plant for biota at Max is nearly finished, and work has been done on the intake, which is the Snake Creek pumping plant. He also said the Southwest Pipeline project will see some upgrades.
"We are planning a water treatment plant for the Southwest Pipeline," Haase said. "We are also planning some hydraulic improvements that just insure the water continues to flow through the system."
Haase said there will be an expansion in the Hebron-to-Lake Tschida area.
"They have been waiting for water for a long time," Haase said.
Mouse River flood control
The Legislature approved $118.6 million for the Mouse River flood control project.
Specifically, $81.1 million goes to flood control in Minot.
"Ib past biennia, the Legislature recognized these large projects take multiple years, sometimes decades, to build," Haase said. "We don't have enough money today to pay for all of that. up front, nor should we pay for all of that up front, if we can put that cash to use today for other aspects of the project that are shovel-ready today."
Haase said the project is expected to be completed by the late 2030s.
