Lewis & Clark hits bittersweet milestone

Construction is ongoing for the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System project.

Here, a 24" section of steel pipe is being put in place.

Funding woes dampen progress, but project perseveres

Lewis & Clark Regional Water System employees and supporters gathered last week in Tea to hold their twenty-fifth annual meeting, a bittersweet milestone for a larger than life plan intended to bring water to 20 communities in three states in a coverage area that rivals the size of Connecticut.

The occasion was a happy one because it meant the effort, originally expected to be complete by 2016, was still alive. The proverbial Goliath standing in the way of this David-like project has been the same since the beginning: funding. Federal funding, to be exact.

The system is designed to distribute up to 45 million gallons of water daily and could be expanded to handle up to 60 million gallons a day if members’ needs increase. But the first priority is to get the initial project complete, which has proven to be a nearly insurmountable challenge.

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