Water

Big Sioux River floodwaters flow over farm fields, sending sediment downstream toward Lake Kampeska and beyond on April 13, 2023. (Brad Johnson/For South Dakota Searchlight)

State’s $3 million Big Sioux cleanup project is slow to catch on

BY: - November 24, 2023

A $3 million program created by the state in 2021 to reduce agricultural pollution in the Big Sioux River has attracted two sign-ups, while drawing criticism for duplicating existing local projects. Meanwhile, the state has doubled the financial incentives for landowners in an effort to attract more interest. Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, introduced the […]

Big Sioux River tributary floodwaters wash through cattle yards in the upper reaches of the river basin on April 13, 2023. (Brad Johnson/For South Dakota Searchlight)

Less rain results in a cleaner Big Sioux River, report says

BY: - November 10, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Less precipitation means less pollution is running into the Big Sioux River, according to a 2023 water quality report.  “We had a significantly less amount of rain than 2022, and that has resulted in better numbers,” said Rachel Kloos, with Friends of the Big Sioux River.  The organization shared the report Wednesday […]

COMMENTARY
Zebra mussels on a rock pulled out of Lake Kampeska at Watertown, and washed-up piles of aquatic weeds. (Brad Johnson, for South Dakota Searchlight)

State is content to be a benchwarmer in aquatic invasive species battle

BY: - September 22, 2023

Pathetic best describes South Dakota’s response as zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species transform the state’s lakes and rivers. While Minnesota invests heavily in education and research to counter the impacts of zebra mussels, our state gives lip service.  Leadership flows down from Gov. Kristi Noem and, since protecting our water is not important […]

Low water levels are visible at Lake Powell on June 24, 2021, in Lake Powell, Utah. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate panel grapples with how to ensure access to water amid Western drought

BY: - September 20, 2023

Decades of drought in the West has made water quality and quantity a major issue requiring government funding and innovation to fix, members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. Demand for water in growing municipalities is stretching agricultural and tribal communities, while shrinking availability is leading to higher water prices, witnesses told the Senate […]

A lesser golden plover sits in a section of wetland June 4, 2006, in Barrow, Alaska. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

New federal water pollution rule draws mixed reaction

BY: - August 30, 2023

A federal rule limiting agencies’ power to regulate water pollution will severely restrict protections for waters and wetlands throughout the country, but could also be subject to challenges from conservative groups that maintain the new rule exerts more federal jurisdiction than the U.S. Supreme Court intended in a May decision. With the rule published Tuesday […]

The Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route in South Dakota. (Courtesy of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission)

Carbon pipeline company’s water-rights application sparks opposition

BY: - August 20, 2023

State officials are recommending a water-rights permit for a carbon dioxide pipeline company, but some nearby residents who use the same aquifer fear they could be negatively affected.   A corporate entity affiliated with Summit Carbon Solutions, called Redfield SCS Capture, has applied to drill a well that could take up to 21 million gallons of […]

A May 2023 aerial view of the former Gilt Edge Mine, an EPA Superfund cleanup site near Lead. (Courtesy of EcoFlight)

Cleanup of abandoned Black Hills mine on hold for potential re-mining

BY: - July 17, 2023

Aspects of a two-decade-long cleanup at an abandoned Black Hills gold mine are pausing because a company might want to re-mine it. The Gilt Edge Mine was abandoned in 1999 when its operator, Brohm Mining, went bankrupt. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took over the site the next year. The EPA’s Joy Jenkins, of Denver, […]

A wetland area in the Chesapeake Bay. (Courtesy EPA)

U.S. House Dems want data on impact of Supreme Court ruling on wetlands protection

BY: - July 10, 2023

Top Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked federal agencies Monday to track possible negative effects from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited federal authority to regulate clean water. Washington’s Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee ranking member Grace Napolitano of California, […]

Firefighting foam, used at airports and military bases, has been identified as a source of toxic PFAS chemicals. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fire Administration)

Federal study detects ‘forever chemicals’ in three SD private wells

BY: - July 6, 2023

Rural water systems across the United States are less likely than urban areas to be contaminated with “forever chemicals” that may lead to health problems such as cancer, thyroid disease and high cholesterol, according to a study from the U.S. Geological Survey released Tuesday. But the same study detected those chemicals in rural private wells […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Supreme Court wetlands decision has SD water advocates worried

BY: - June 18, 2023

A recent U.S. Supreme Court wetlands decision may have implications for wetlands in South Dakota, which has a law that says state environmental regulations and rules cannot be more strict than federal ones. A wetland is generally viewed as an area of land that is covered or soaked with water for at least part of […]

Prairie potholes in the Upper Midwest. (Courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Feds propose drainage rules to protect wetlands in SD and nearby states

BY: - May 26, 2023

A government agency wants to keep water-draining equipment used by farmers away from federally protected wetlands in several states. Drain tiles are underground perforated pipes buried in farmers’ fields. They are used to drain unwanted water – including some wetlands – allowing for more room to plant crops. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple

BY: - May 25, 2023

UPDATED 5 p.m. Central, 5/25/23 The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable […]