Congress's recent override of a presidential veto on a $23 billion water projects bill proves just how important spending on water infrastructure is to America.

President Bush vetoed the Water Resources Development Act, saying it was fiscally irresponsible and filled with too many special interest projects. Congress disagreed. The House of Representatives overrode the veto on Nov. 6; the Senate on Nov. 8.

No doubt there was plenty of pork in the bill - among the 900 different projects it authorizes were numerous beach resort improvements. But there are also critical water infrastructure projects, including one for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe that will ensure clean, safe drinking water for 14,000 people in four western South Dakota counties.

The WRDA authorizes $65 million to upgrade the Mni Waste Rural and Municipal Water System. For years, that antiquated and severely undersized water system has taken its water from the drought-stricken Cheyenne River. The new legislation allows the Army Corps of Engineers to relocate the water intake into the mainstream of the Missouri River instead, improving water quality and health as well as housing and economic development potential for the tribe.

Those kind of forward-looking infrastructure decisions are expensive to make, but imperative. Rapid City is facing them, too, as recent water system woes in the city prove.

An aging water delivery system that covers 397 miles and contains more than 9,000 control valves flows beneath the streets of Rapid City. It delivers more than 12 million gallons of water on a typical day, and if we want it to continue to do that into the future, we must invest in its maintenance today.

Whether it's paying for a new water treatment plant at Jackson Springs or replacing block after block of crumbling sewer lines in the older parts of town, Rapid City is no different from many other cities facing big bills. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America falls $22 billion short each year to update its water infrastructure.

But face it we must.

City residents expect to have clean, safe drinking water and sewer lines that work when they flush the toilet. We should also expect to pay for them, with water rate increases where necessary, along with a mix of state and federal monies. These are municipal problems that require public, not private, answers.

As America marks the 35th anniversary of the Clean Water Act this year, our biggest challenge may be in modernizing the municipal water systems that deliver that clean water to our homes.