South Dakota board assigns final $6.1 million in Biden-era federal funds for water projects

The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources assigned the final dollars of Biden-era federal funding for drinking water and wastewater projects during its November meeting. The dollars come from the American Rescue Plan Act. Congress passed the ARPA legislation in 2021. Then-President Joe Biden signed it into law that March. It included a total of $1.9 trillion in funding to stimulate the national economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. South Dakota has used more than $703 million in money made available through that federal legislation for water infrastructure and quality improvement projects. In 2025, Agriculture and Natural Resouces Secretary Hunter Roberts told lawmakers that the ARPA funding led to a “water renaissance” in the state.

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