The US Department of the Interior announced $420 million in funding allocated for improved water supply infrastructure divided between several Western and Midwestern states facing extreme, long-term drought conditions.
A total of $57 million of the funding goes towards the Rocky Boy North Central Montana Rural Water System, which provides water to more than 30,000 residents.
The North Central Montana Rural Water Authority aims to build pipelines, construct pump systems and make improvements to water treatment facilities and reservoirs.
A spokesperson for the Rocky Boy system says the pipeline from Box Elder and across the Reservation is about halfway complete and will likely take another two years until it is fully functional.
The Reservation has faced difficulties with treatment and distribution of water in the past and the spokesperson explains the completion of construction on the Tiber Dam Reservoir and treatment center will be of huge benefit, too.
The Fort Peck Reservation-Dry Prairie Rural Water System in northeastern Montana also receives around $7 million from the Bureau of Reclamation.
