Red River Water Supply project officials report construction progress, ask for continued funding

Greg Bischoff, vice chair of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, and West Fargo Mayor Bernie Dardis updated the Senate Appropriations Education and Environment Division on the Red River Water Supply project, reporting active construction and asking for continued state funding to keep the project on a 10‑year schedule.

“The Red River Water supply is a long term emergency water supply and economic development driver,” Mayor Bernie Dardis said, describing the project as a 72‑inch (6‑foot) steel pipeline roughly 125 miles long that is designed to flow about 160 cubic feet per second. Dardis said the pipe is typically buried 7 to 15 feet and the system has the potential to serve nearly half of North Dakota’s population.

Bischoff told the committee he spoke on behalf of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District and Lake Agassiz Water Authority to thank legislators for previous appropriations and to introduce project leadership who could answer technical questions.

Officials said the construction program is active: bids have been accepted and contracts awarded for segments of the transmission line, with some sections complete and others under construction. Dardis said that by the end of 2024 eight construction contracts totaling about $270 million had been awarded and that, “by mid‑2025, more than 100 miles of the pipeline will be 100% design.”

Dardis and Bischoff recapped prior legislative support: Senate Bill 2020 in 2023 provided $180 million for the 2023–25 biennium, and speakers described a larger multi‑biennium state commitment and an intended 75% state / 20% local / 5% federal cost‑share on some elements of the program. Dardis said the project partners — Garrison Diversion, Lake Agassiz Water Authority, the North Dakota Water Commission and federal partners — have obligated the $240 million they control and continue outreach to additional user communities.

Committee members asked technical questions about bidding and easements. Project manager Dwayne DeCray (identified in the hearing) said easement acquisition is ongoing and reported the project is approximately 96% through easement procurements; he said the project had not yet required eminent domain in most places but expected one or two remaining cases could require it. DeCray also described seasonal construction constraints tied to frost and mud: some contractors staged materials and aggregate over winter and will begin trenching when frost is out of the ground.

Dardis and Bischoff told senators the draft 2025–27 work plan contemplates roughly $331 million to install approximately 40 miles of pipeline during that biennium and to fund final design for major facilities including the main pump station, ground storage reservoirs, and a water treatment plant to treat water moved across the continental divide. Dardis emphasized that state appropriations from prior sessions have been spent or obligated and asked the committee to continue funding to maintain a 10‑year build pace.

Committee members pressed on cost‑estimate risk and long‑term affordability; the presenters cited the number of users and continued community sign‑ups as key variables for per‑user cost. DeCray and Dardis also noted a favorable bidding environment to date but acknowledged the project remains subject to future market and construction cost pressures.

The hearing did not record any committee vote on Red River funding at this session.