A grass buffer strip along the Big Sioux River. (Courtesy of Big Sioux River Project)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources assigned the final dollars of Biden-era federal funding for drinking water and wastewater projects during its November meeting.
The dollars come from the American Rescue Plan Act. Congress passed the ARPA legislation in 2021. Then-President Joe Biden signed it into law that March. It included a total of $1.9 trillion in funding to stimulate the national economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Dakota has used more than $703 million in money made available through that federal legislation for water infrastructure and quality improvement projects. In 2025, Agriculture and Natural Resouces Secretary Hunter Roberts told lawmakers that the ARPA funding led to a “water renaissance” in the state.
Last week, the governor-appointed board approved funding for a riparian buffer strip program administered by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as for infrastructure projects to expand access to water for customers in the Mitchell area and rural Minnehaha and Moody counties.
Andy Bruels, of the agriculture and natural resources department, thanked staff, board members, local water district leaders and the contractors who helped complete the projects.
“This would not have been possible without everybody working together,” he said. “It was an effort from all parties and we’ve done a lot of very good benefit.”
The federal money funded 199 water and infrastructure projects, according to a press release from the deparment. Nearly $400 million of the funding went to support drinking water projects, and a little less than $300 million contributed to wastewater and stormwater projects. The remainder of the dollars supported water quality improvements across the state.
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