$1.4B in water, sewer projects could cause nightmares across South Dakota: Brad Johnson

South Dakota engineers, excavators, pipe layers, plumbers and construction managers are waking up in cold sweats trying to figure out how to accomplish all the work headed their direction.

In two meetings in April and June, the South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources, in firehose fashion, approved nearly $1.4 billion in water and sewer projects. Comparatively, it took previous boards at least a dozen years to distribute similar funding.

More: Watertown receives loans, grants of nearly $17M for water system improvements, landfill cell

The sudden infusion of cash is part of the $1 trillion federal Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. The legislature earmarked $600 million of its $1 billion share to the South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources and about $480 million of it was dedicated by the end of the board’s June 23 meeting.

The money is to be spent within five years. Its effect on the state’s economy, along with another $400 million in housing, broadband, electric vehicle charging station and airport improvement projects, is significant.

That doesn’t even include the more than $2 billion allocated to roads and bridges during the next five years. Nor does it include the multi-billion dollars of planned private construction.

All of these projects have to be designed, engineered and constructed in a short amount of time, largely using existing contractors.

This comes at a time when South Dakota has 30,000 job openings with about 600 people on unemployment.

Largely hidden from the public’s view are cities and utilities generating the massive local debt as they scoop up free money.

More: WEB grant could be part of broader water project that includes Aberdeen, BDM and a $750M price tag

That grant money, earmarked by the board, was supplemented by more than $800 million in mostly low-interested loan money. Those loans could bring sticker shock to many households across South Dakota as monthly usage rates jump for repayment purposes.

Among the major projects are $56 million for wastewater treatment upgrades in Aberdeen with about $32.4 million in loans and a monthly rate hike of perhaps $14.35. Brookings is planning at least $78 million of work with about $55 million of that in loans that will cause rates to jump about $27 a month.

Some years ago, Harrisburg, a fast-growing community south of Sioux Falls decided to build its own sewer system instead of merging into the Sioux Falls system. That decision, combined with a proposed $17.7 million upgrade, will cost its households $109 a month in sewer costs, the highest in South Dakota.

Watertown is planning nearly $47 million in water, sewer and landfill projects and about $32.5 million of that will be in loans.

More: Price increases for landfill cell, street improvements approved by Watertown City Council

Yankton is anticipating nearly $60 million in work with about $42 million of that in loans and a potential rate hike of $38 a month.

Rapid City has secured $145 million, about $101 million of which will be a loan.

WEB Water, which provides treated Missouri River water to a large area of northeastern and north-central South Dakota, walked away with riches in federal grants. It received about $39.2 million in grants to fund nearly $60 million in water pipe expansion.

Other rural water systems also are moving on projects, such as $33 million in the Kingbrook system.

Minnehaha Community Water Corp. and the Big Sioux Community Water System have formed a new organization to bring water to customers in the Sioux Falls area. It’s simply called Shared Resources. That new organization is planning a $108 million project with a $70 million loan. Minnehaha Community Water Corp is planning a separate $44 million project, all funded by a loan.

More: State approves $32.71 million grant to help WEB upsize line to meet growing needs

West Dakota Water Development District will get an $8 million grant to study and design a pipeline system to carry Missouri River Water to the Rapid City area.

Where things get interesting is in small towns like Webster. It has proposed about $12.4 million of water and sewer projects and about $5.5 million of that will be in loans, a lot for a small town.

This rushed method of distributing grants and approving projects will have long-term financial implications on communities and maintenance costs that have barely been considered.

Improving infrastructure benefits our communities, but when we do in five years what it normally takes 15 years to accomplish, engineers and rate payers might have nightmares.

Brad Johnson is a Watertown businessman and journalist. He also served 16 years on the South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: SD has OK'd $1.4B in infrastructure work, but residents might pay