DRWA’s interim source of water is the City of Sidney

• City of Sidney’s groundwater supply consists of 7 wells (~110ft deep) producing from sand and gravel deposits underlying the Crane Creek terrace surface.

• City of Sidney’s treatment plant provides iron and manganese removal.

• City of Sidney uses chlorine to provide a detectable residual in the distribution system for secondary disinfection purposes.

• The City of Sidney’s water is of high quality and meets the State and EPA’s requirements for MCLs for all primary contaminants.

• The City of Sidney has not had any water quality violations from Montana DEQ for over 20 years.

• The City of Sidney has agreed to supply up to 500gpm to DRWA.

  
  The Highway 200W Project is the 5th project planned to use the City of Sidney as an interim water source.

• DRWA Has 88 Water Connections

• · Project planning phase began in 2023 and included 2 public meetings held in August 2023 to provide information on DRWA and the Project.

  o The purpose of the meeting was to answer landowner and user comments, questions and/or concerns, gather feedback, and finalize user sign-ups.

  · Participation by users within the Project area is voluntary.

  o Every user voluntarily connecting to DRWA’s Project will reduce the impact on the area aquifer(s).

  · Schmart Estates has been approved by DEQ to use individual cisterns due to concerns with the quantity of ground water supplied by individual wells. Schmart Estates will connect to Phase II of the Project.

  · Phase I of the Project will be complete in Fall 2025.

  · Phase II of the Project will be completed by Fall 2026.

  · Funding for Phase I and II of the Project is provided nearly wholly by DRWA’s ARPA Grant, a portion of Richland County’s ARPA Grants, and DNRC’s Rural Water Grants.

  o ARPA Grants were provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

  o DNRC administers rural water grants to the four (4) regional water authorities in the State of Montana. The total amount of rural water grants available to DNRC is finalized by the Governor every two (2) years.

  · If DRWA’s regional water system is not authorized and appropriated by Congress, the existing users will be permanently supplied by the City of Sidney.

DRWA Regional Water System FAQs

·         DRWA was created in 2004 by the conservation districts and counties of McCone, Dawson, Richland, and Garfield to supply reliable, high-quality drinking water for residents, municipalities, and livestock in eastern Montana.  

·         DRWA is a legally recognized governmental entity governed by Montana law.

·         The Clean Water for Rural Communities Act of 2020 authorized the DRWA Project for study by the US Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.

o   BOR will conclude the feasibility study by December 2025.

§  BOR has determined the DRWA Project is technically feasible.

§  BOR has determined the DRWA Project is environmentally feasible. 

§  BOR has determined the DRWA Project is financially feasible.

§  BOR has determined the DRWA Project is economically feasible on the basis of monetized and non-monetized benefits.

§  BOR recommends authorization of the DRWA Project.

§  BOR has determined the DRWA Project is 27% less costly than the Alternative Plan that delivers the same quality of water to the service area.

o   DRWA will seek authorization and appropriation from Congress to design and construct the Project beginning in 2025. 

o   The Construction Cost of the DRWA Project in 2024 Dollars is $629,771,844.

§  The federal cost share of the Project is assumed to be 75%. The State’s cost share of the Project is assumed to be 12.5%. DRWA’s cost share of the Project is assumed to be 12.5%.

·         DRWA’s service area encompasses 11,874 square miles.

o   DRWA holds a lawfully permitted water right from Fort Peck Reservoir of up to 4,200gpm (3,900 acre-feet per year). 

§  DRWA would use less than 1% of legally available water in the Reservoir.

§  DRWA’s Project is designed for a population in 2084 of 10,435 persons that equates to 3,357gpm of peak demand. 

o   The water treatment plant will use membrane filtration to meet the State and EPA’s requirements for MCLs for all primary contaminants. Chloramines will be used for long-term disinfection of finished water.

§  Up to 10% of wells within the service area produce water that exceeds the MCL of primary contaminants.

§  A majority of rural users rely on water with hardness, deposits, colored water, staining, and a salty / metallic taste that violates EPA secondary MCL guidelines.

o   The Towns of Jordan, Circle, Richey, Lambert, and Fairview are included in the DRWA Project. The public water systems in West Glendive are included as well.

§  Circle, Richey, and Lambert treat groundwater using reverse osmosis because of high levels of fluoride, a health hazard and regular contaminant.

§  The brine formed as a byproduct of reverse osmosis is overlading the lagoons in both Circle and Lambert.

§  Jordan and public water systems in West Glendive do not treat their water other than disinfection.

§  Fairview uses a filtration process to remove iron and manganese.

§  The finished water provided by Fairview, Jordan, Lambert, and West Glendive have total dissolved solids (TDS) levels between 2-11 times higher than EPA secondary MCL guidelines.

§  Lambert, Richey, and public water systems in West Glendive have odor levels 1-2 times higher than EPA secondary MCL guidelines.

§  All systems have sodium levels between 4-32 times the suggested limit.

o   The DRWA Project includes approximately 1,325 miles of pipelines ranging in diameter from 3” to 20”, 116 miles of electrical lines, an intake structure, regional water treatment plant, twelve pump stations, and six storage tanks.

o   Storage tanks are sized to supply two days of storage to meet State standards.

§  DRWA’s rural water system does not include fire protection. The towns are responsible for meeting fire flow and storage requirements. 

·         Towns proposing to connect to the DRWA Project will be provided with bulk water through one water meter. Municipalities are responsible for operations, maintenance, and replacement of their storage and distribution system.

o   During final design of the water treatment, participation by municipalities is voluntary. If municipalities do not participate, the final design of DRWA’s Project’s components may be downsized.

·         Individual users proposing to connect to the DRWA Project will be provided through individual water meters.

o   Alignments of planned water lines were determined using the criteria of 1.5 miles per single residential connection. For example, one house within 1.5 miles of the main pipeline is included in the Project and so are four houses that require six miles or less of pipeline.

o   During final design of each Project segment, participation by users within the Project area is voluntary. If participating users do not meet the 1.5 miles per single residential connection, water lines may not be installed.

·         Public water systems meter connections to provide accurate water flow measurement for billing and usage tracking systems and significantly enhance water efficiency and management.

o   Meters help identify leaks and prevent water waste.

o   Smart meters provide real-time data on water usage, allowing for proactive management and optimization of water resources.

§  Smart meters can help reduce costs associated with water bills and resource management.

·         Every user voluntarily connecting to DRWA’s Project will reduce the impact on aquifers that are depended on by well users.