New Regional Water System
Southeast Water Users District

 

Until recently, three separate water districts served southeastern North Dakota, Southeast Water Users District (SEWUD), Ransom-Sargent Water Users District (RSWUD), and Dickey Rural Water Users District (DRWUD).  In 2006, DRWUD and RSWUD merged and became part of SEWUD.  As far back as 1994, AE2S has been working as the consultant for the individual districts providing assessments of their water systems and developing alternative concepts for various phases of their construction projects.  AE2S continues to work with Steve Hansen, general manager of SEWUD, to meet the consultant needs for various phases of the current Southeast Area Regional Expansion project.

Careful Planning Makes Most of Funding Dollars

Interest in a regional water supply system to serve Ransom and Sargent Counties stemmed from a host of water supply problems including both insufficient quantity and unacceptable quality. RSWUD organized in 1994 to address these water quantity and quality issues.

AE2S prepared a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and a Feasibility Study for the construction of a new rural water system as the preferred alternative to meet the water supply needs of the region.  As a result of these efforts, the rural water system was able to obtain grant funding through the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District’s Municipal, Rural, and Industrial (MR&I) program, which is funded through the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and loan funds through United States Department of Agriculture/Rural Development.

Due to the amount of funding required, the project was constructed in four phases. Phase I and Phase II, which were constructed in 1998 and 1999, brought water service to 265 connections in the communities of Marion, Fingal, and Cogswell.  In 2000, construction began on Phase III (Core System) providing water service to approximately 590 rural connections.  Phase IV, completed in 2004, developed a new well field, and expanded the existing Lisbon Water Treatment Plant in order to meet the RSWUD treatment needs. 

This $21 million dollar project currently serves over 800 rural connections in seven counties and 3 communities with a safe and reliable water supply. Through joint cooperation with existing water providers in the area, facilitated by AE2S, the new area water system was constructed with substantially less infrastructure, keeping water rates as low as possible

SEWUD Evaluates Potential Impacts of the Arsenic Rule

In 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VIII conducted a second five-year review of the remedial actions implemented under the original Arsenic Trioxide Superfund (ATS) project in southeastern North Dakota.  The ATS Site is composed of 20 townships located in portions of Richland, Ransom, and Sargent Counties.  SEWUD retained AE2S to develop a PER to evaluate the potential impacts of the new Arsenic Rule on communities and users in the SEWUD service area.  In February 2005, an EPA Priority Panel ranked the ATS Project within the top ten of all of the potential Superfund projects, allowing the project to be funded under the Superfund program.  Since 2001, AE2S has been providing reviews of the North Dakota Department of Health preliminary efforts and meeting with the congressional delegation to spearhead funding efforts for all segments of the ATS project.

One of the most significant obstacles facing the project team was the requirement for obligation of the 2005 Superfund appropriations by September 30, 2005.  The tight timeline for the design phase represented a concern for the retrofit and expansion of the existing SEWUD water treatment plant (WTP).  Consequently, the project team developed an approach to ensure that the 2005 Superfund obligations were fully appropriated to the ATS Project under Segment 1.  Segment 2, which was bid in May of 2006, includes the expansion of the SEWUD well field, and the expansion of the existing SEWUD WTP.  Segment 2 is scheduled for completion in fall 2007.

Service to the City of Lidgerwood and connection of the remaining rural users to the SEWUD water system is anticipated under the future segments of the ATS Project.  It is anticipated that design for the third segment of the ATS project will begin in late 2006 for construction beginning in spring 2007.  Depending upon the amount of remedial action construction dollars available from the EPA under the Superfund program, the City of Lidgerwood’s alternative decision, and the number of rural sign-ups obtained, subsequent segments are anticipated beyond a third phase.  The opinion of total probable project cost for these future segments is $16.2 million. 

Another city impacted by the new Arsenic Rule but not within the ATS superfund boundary is the City of LaMoure.  AE2S prepared a preliminary engineering report and KL&J prepared an environmental assessment in conjunction with SEWUD for proposed water service to LaMoure from SEWUD’s central water plant.  This project entails the installation of 30 miles of 8-inch pipe and the construction of a 100,000-gallon reservoir and pump station.  Construction is anticipated to begin in 2007.

On-Going Consultant Services

AE2S has performed detailed hydraulic computer design and analysis for all of the rural water systems, including necessary field hydraulic testing of pressures and flows for model calibration to cost effectively design new system construction and proposed expansions to the existing systems.

In 2005, AE2S completed the Instrumentation and Controls Needs Assessment for the DRWUD to develop recommendations for Supervisory Controls And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system upgrades, and cost estimates for hardware, software, and programming requirements.

AE2S is also working closely with Mr. Hansen on annual Capital Improvements planning and Cost of Service Utility Rates Studies for all three water system.

 

 

 

2004 NDCEC “Engineering Excellence” Award Winner