operations

The water treatment plant operates 24/7 using two 12 hour shifts.  A 14-member operations team ensures the wells, treatment plant, distribution system and storage reservoirs are running properly at all times.  The team also maintains a strict maintenance schedule, and makes needed repairs when equipment needs to be fixed or replaced.  

Water from Lewis & Clark won the Best Tasting Water contest at the SD Association of Rural Water Systems’ Annual Technical Conference in Pierre in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (runner-up in 2019).  This is a testament to the dedicated and hard working operations team.  The System’s current water loss is within the margin of error for the meters so is basically nil, which is virtually unheard of in the industry.  A water loss of 5% would be considered very good.  This is a testament to the outstanding engineering team, operations staff and pipeline installation contractors.  Hardness of the treated water is only 9 grains per gallon (160 parts per million).