Interior to study four-state water supply project feasibility
H.R. 7331 — Dakota Mainstem Water Supply Project Feasibility Study Act · Filed by Dusty Johnson (R-SD) · Introduced Feb 3, 2026 · Hearing held
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill directs the Interior Secretary to study whether a water supply project can feasibly serve municipal, rural, and industrial water needs across South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota through the Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System. The federal government would fund up to 50% of the study cost (capped at $10 million), with the nonprofit regional water system covering the rest; the study authority expires 10 years after enactment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is authorization of a feasibility study for a multi-state water supply project, with cost-sharing and a sunset clause. It is a straightforward authorization bill with no hidden provisions or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- If the study concludes the project is feasible, a follow-up authorization and appropriation bill would likely be needed to fund actual construction, potentially committing federal resources to a large infrastructure project.
- The nonprofit Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System is designated as the non-Federal project entity; its governance structure and accountability to the four-state region are not detailed in this bill.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
engineering and consulting firms (study contractors); Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System (nonprofit entity managing the project)