The House Appropriations Committee has approved $28.24 million for the giant Mni Wiconi Rural Water Project in western South Dakota. However, project officials say that amount is not enough to keep construction on pace to finish on time.

The project is expected to begin delivering treated Missouri River water to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in August, 20 years after the project was first authorized.

When finished, the project will provide Missouri River water to about 50,000 people on three Native American reservations and nine West River counties. The project is now more than 80 percent finished.

However, the $28 million funding approved this week also includes approximately $10 million for operations and maintenance, leaving only about $18 million for construction, according to Frank Means, director of the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply System. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is the lead agency for the Mni Wiconi project, which also is providing water to the Lower Brule and Rosebud Sioux tribes as well as non-tribal customers, including those of the West River/Lyman Jones Rural Water Systems.

Means said the project needs about $28 million for construction for the 2009 fiscal year just to stay on pace to finish by the target date of 2013.

"We're going to have to go on the Senate side and try to get more money," Means said Friday.

For the current fiscal year, Congress approved about $28 million for construction of the project, Means said.

The Mni Wiconi water treatment plant was finished at Fort Pierre several years ago, and the core line has been extended to Murdo, Kadoka and now to Wanblee on the far eastern edge of the Pine Ridge reservation.

However, testing and other final work remains to be done from Wanblee Junction west to Hisle Junction before water can begin flowing to the reservation, Means said. Crews are also installing pipeline from Hisle Junction to Kyle, he said.

Another major push this year is to complete the water-distribution system for rural areas near Kyle, Means said.

The core line of the system has been extended from Fort Pierre to Murdo and Kadoka, south to the intersection with S.D. Highway 44 and west to Wanblee. The line then will be extended from Wanblee to Kyle, where it will connect to the still developing distribution system on Pine Ridge.

On Pine Ridge, 50 percent of the final supply will come from high-quality groundwater and 50 percent from the river, according to Mike Watson of Helena, Mont., head engineer for the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply System.

For the West River/Lyman Jones Rural Water Systems segment of the project, only one part of the core line remains to be finished, the section from Kadoka to 12 miles east of Philip. The core line has been built from Fort Pierre west to Hayes and then southwest to the point 12 miles east of Philip.

In addition to the money for Mni Wiconi, the House committee approved $25 million for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water Project that will deliver water to more than 300,000 residents in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, according to a news release from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.

Also, $3 million was provided in the House bill for the Perkins County Rural Water System, Herseth Sandlin said.

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8417 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com