Tribes, Dry Prairie To Sign Water Pact For NE Montana

The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Reservation and Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority have announced their agreement for the delivery of water from the tribes' intake and treatment facilities near Wolf Point to Dry Prairie customers throughout Montana's Northeastern corner.

They'll have a ceremony to sign the agreement on Tuesday, March 31, in Poplar at the Fort Peck Tribal Headquarters, 501 Medicine Bear Road. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and comments from dignitaries will begin the ceremony that will lead up to the signing of the agreement by U.S. Representatives, the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservations. The public is welcome to attend.

As a result of the three-party agreement between the tribes, Dry Prairie and the United States, the rural water systems will be connected later this spring. Once connected, the tribal intake and treatment facilities will begin supplying water to Dry Prairie at a delivery point near Hwy. 2, on the eastern side of the reservation. The connection will allow Dry Prairie to immediately serve 700 of its rural customers, as well as the communities of Bainville, Froid, Medicine Lake, Plentywood, Antelope and Culbertson.

“Access to clean water is critical to the health of our communities,” Sen. Jon Tester said on the announcement. “Connecting families to the regional water system strengthens communities in northeast Montana, invests in our infrastructure and puts more folks to work. I applaud the leadership of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Dry Prairie and local communities for their work to make this historic agreement happen.”

In addition to the eastern connection point, the tribes and Dry Prairie hope to also establish a connection between the two systems near Nashua this upcoming year. This western connection will allow Dry Prairie to deliver water from the facility to the customers west of the reservation. A third connection is also planned along the northern boundary of the reservation, near Hwy. 251. Eventually, the combined rural water systems will consist of 3,000 miles of water pipeline servicing approximately 30,000 residents throughout the easter half of Valley County and all of Roosevelt, Sheridan and Daniels Counties.

“I'm glad to see this important project moving forward. This historic agreement will ensure hundreds of families on the Fort Peck Reservation and throughout northeastern Montana will have access to clean and safe drinking water. I commend the tribes and Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority for their work, and will continue working to ensure that this important project receives the funding it needs to move forward,” Sen. Steve Daines said in a statement.

Congress originally authorized the two water projects in 2000 under the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act. The water for both projects is diverted from the Missouri River to a single treatment facility constructed and operated by the tribes under an Indian Self-Determination Act agreement between the tribes and the U.S. Secretary of Interior.

“Dry Prairie and the tribes have worked together over the past two decades to bring safe drinking water to northeastern Montana,” Dry Prairie Chairman Rick Knick said. “Working together we can accomplish great things.”