Funding

A combination of federal, state, and local grants are being used for funding construction. In general terms the funding breakdown is 80% federal, 10% states and 10% local.  Sioux Falls paid a local cost share equivalent of 15%.  

The Lewis & Clark Rural Water System Act became law in July 2000 (P.L. 106-246).  It authorized federal grant in the amount of $213,887,700 in FY93 dollars.  Indexed for inflation, the approved funding ceiling at the time of authorization was $270,106,000. Each year the Bureau of Reclamation indexes the remaining federal funding ceiling for inflation and other factors.  Through FY24 the federal government has appropriated $532.225 million and has an estimated remaining cost share of $15 million.  It is hoped FY25 will be the last fiscal year that federal funding is needed to complete the “Base System.” 

The three states and 20 local members have paid 100% of their cost share — a combined $154.1 million.  This includes the members paying 100% of the incremental cost to upsize the System after authorization from 23.5 million gallons a day (MGD) to 44.19 MGD.  Not included in this total is the combined $56.7 million in “federal funding advances” approved by the three states.