June 5, 2025:
In 2023, the town of Fort Pierre became a member of the Western Dakota Regional Water System, the group working to create the West Dakota Water Development District.
Mayor Gloria Hanson says if the WDRWS were to become a reality, the current plan is for it to pump water from the Missouri River near Fort Pierre to 20 participating counties.
Considering the average amount of water that flows in the Missouri River each day, Hanson says what West Dakota would draw out isn’t much.
Hanson says Fort Pierre needs to find a new source of water because its current supplier, West River Lyman-Jones, has said they will no longer be able to supply the town water once the current contract expires.
Hanson says Fort Pierre is currently working with Western Dakota on ways the town can conserve water this summer.
Earlier this year (2025), South Dakota lawmakers passed a joint resolution that would allow the WDRWS project to pump water to Gregory, Haakon, Hughes, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Stanley, Todd, Tripp, Bennett, Butte, Custer, Fall River, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Pennington and Perkins counties.
Representatives with the Western Dakota Regional Water System are holding an informational come-and-go style open house in Fort Pierre today (June 5, 2025) from 4:30-6:30pm CT at the Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center.
June 4, 2025:
During this year’s legislative session (2025), South Dakota lawmakers passed a joint resolution that would allow the Western Dakota Regional Water System to pump water from the Missouri River near Fort Pierre to 20 different counties, mostly on the western side of the state.
This week, representatives with WDRWS are holding informational gatherings, one of which, according to Mayor Gloria Hanson, is being held Thursday (June 5, 2025) in Fort Pierre.
Thursday’s meeting in Fort Pierre is from 4:30-6:30pm CT at the Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center.
If it becomes reality, the WDRWS project could pump 20,765 acre-feet of water annually to the participating counties. Currently, those include Gregory, Haakon, Hughes, Jackson, Jones, Lyman, Stanley, Todd, Tripp, Bennett, Butte, Custer, Fall River, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Mellette, Oglala Lakota, Pennington and Perkins.
Other meetings this week were held in Piedmont and Hot Springs.
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