Congress funds water studies for rural Midwest—but locals foot the bill
H.R. 9785 — South Dakota Water Feasibility Studies Act · Filed by Dusty Johnson (R-SD) · Introduced Jul 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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 Secretary of the Interior to conduct three separate feasibility studies for rural water supply projects in the Missouri River basin across South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The federal government will fund up to 50% of study costs (capped at $10 million per study), while non-federal entities must cover at least 25% of any eventual construction costs. The studies will examine whether three specific water systems—a general Missouri basin project, the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System expansion, and the Dakota Mainstem Water Supply Project—are viable and should be built.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to authorize and fund preliminary engineering and economic studies for three rural water supply projects in the Upper Midwest. It is a study-authorization bill, not a construction authorization or appropriation, and operates within standard federal reclamation feasibility frameworks.
What the text implies
- The bill authorizes $30 million in federal feasibility study funds with no requirement that studies result in construction authorization or public benefit—funds may be spent on studies that conclude projects are not viable or affordable.
- Non-federal entities (Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Inc. and Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System, Inc.) are named as primary partners and cost-sharers, creating potential for federal subsidy of private or quasi-public water utility expansion without competitive bidding or public ownership guarantees.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Inc.; Dakota Mainstem Regional Water System, Inc.; Engineering and consulting firms conducting feasibility studies