August 11, 2025 - The report showed that water availability in the Black Hills region would not meet current demand during a drought and eventually will not meed demand in an average rainfall year.

May 4, 2023 - All of which is to say that nine years ago, when I got the impression from listening to Rapid City’s then-mayor that there was no need for additional water supplies, the city and the region probably should have already been deeply involved in talks about a Missouri River pipeline.

West Dakota Water Development District (WDWDD) applied for and received a future use permit for Missouri River water to be piped to western South Dakota — some day. Somebody from the City — I don’t know who it was — said, ‘Well, we’re going to do the same thing.’ So shortly after that future use permit was obtained, that representative from the City did just that. Because of this, the City of Rapid City has had a future use permit since the 1970s permitting us to take roughly 28,000 thousand acre-feet of water annually from the Missouri River.

August 11, 2025 - “Based on current use and water demand projections, the region’s ability to provide water during drought conditions without utilizing surface water and groundwater storage is limited and will worsen as population increases,” the study concluded. “While expensive and challenging, it is feasible to transport Missouri River water to the Rapid City region.”

August 13, 2025 - The report showed that water availability in the Black Hills region would not meet current demand during a drought and eventually will not meed demand in an average rainfall year.

August 29, 2025 - Boyda says this balanced mix provides the city flexibility to meet projected growth through the year 2115. Rapid City Water Superintendent Eric Boyda says, "We're also investing in longer term projects, such as working with Western Dakota Regional Water System and looking at tapping into our Missouri River water rights that will be several decades away."

August 12, 2025 - “Based on current use and water demand projections, the region’s ability to provide water during drought conditions without utilizing surface water and groundwater storage is limited and will worsen as population increases,” the study concluded. “While expensive and challenging, it is feasible to transport Missouri River water to the Rapid City region.”

September 5, 2025 - If all entities with senior rights were to utilize their full allocations, entities with junior rights would be reduced or cut off before Rapid City. Boyda stated that the city’s balanced mix of water sources provides flexibility to deliver reliable water service, even during periods of drought. This is paired with responsible water use and watering restrictions. The city also continues to pursue the acquisition of senior surface water rights to strengthen long-term resilience. A potential future project to bring water from the Missouri River would allow the city to access its future-use water rights.

Read a summary of the City's Pilot Permeable Alley Program · During moderate to heavy rainfalls, rain cannot soak into the ground as fast as it falls, and quick-moving water can erode away soil or cause flooding.

2 weeks ago - Following the shut down of the plants dependent on coal, electrical rates have increased. The city has had to spend more to import electricity over a longer distance. Rapid City obtains most of its water supply from Rapid Creek and the alluvial ...

Central Black Hills communities choose an agriculture-and recreation-based economy."Our goal is to to have the federally-controlled surface and subsurface lands within the Rapid Creek/Castle Creek watershed upstream from Rapid City designated as a recreation area and subject to a mineral claim withdrawal."

November 17, 2019 - The Rapid City Journal reports Kurt Katzenstein presented his findings to the West Dakota Water Development District last week. Katzenstein is an associate professor of geology and geological engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. He says the 171-mile pipeline could cost up to $1.87 billion, making it a long-term idea that could require funding from Congress. Katzenstein says projections indicate that the Rapid City area could have enough water from local sources to sustainably meet demand for the next 100 years if average precipitation levels prevail.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -State Senator Helene Duhamel says a recent USGS study supports the need for a future pipeline to bring water from the Missouri River to the Black Hills region.

May 4, 2022 - Gronlund said Rapid City has a future-use permit for 28,000 acre-feet from the Missouri River and West River-Lyman-Jones rural water district has a future-use permit for 10,000 acre-feet.

April 14, 2020 - Today, large-scale gold mining ... where it would threaten the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nation) homelands, treaty territory and present-day reservation lands and rural and ranching communities....

Rapid City public water supply system is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control

Could you, guys, tell us if you have issues with water supply and what kind?

April 14, 2025 - During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers approved Senate Joint Resolution 501 , which granted WDRWS legislative approval for its future use water permit application (number 2881-2), allowing the system to reserve 20,765 acre-feet of water annually from the Missouri River. "We have to look at it as ‘what are we going to do for people who live here now?’ and especially for our children," said State Rep. Nicole Uhre-Balk, a democrat from District 32 in central Rapid City, “We have to be able to provide the resources that they need to be able to stay in the state and be able to keep it the great amazing place that it is."

December 18, 2020 - Rapid City uses a number of sources for our water system, including two infiltration galleries located along the Rapid Creek alluvium: the Jackson Springs Gallery and the Girl Scouts Gallery. We utilize eight wells that draw water from the Minnelusa and Madison Aquifers.