Southwest Pipeline officials tell appropriations committee funding gap remains for major expansion and pipe replacement

Southwest Pipeline Project managers told the House Appropriations — Education and Environment Division on the hearing for House Bill 1020 that the regional system faces major capital needs, a backlog of unserved customers and accelerating costs for large pipeline and treatment projects.

The Southwest Pipeline Project currently serves about 58,000 people, including roughly 7,750 rural customers, officials said. Jen Murray, manager for the Southwest Pipeline Project, said the system includes more than 5,000 miles of pipe, 35 booster pump stations, 32 storage tanks and reservoirs, and three water treatment plants.

Why it matters: committee members pressed officials on a multiyear plan and specific dollar amounts as construction and replacement work carries into the next biennium. Justin Prosseth, the project manager with the Department of Water Resources, told lawmakers a major Southwest expansion now estimates a total project cost of $106 million; the 2023 session committed about $90 million (including a $50 million letter of credit and $40 million in appropriations), leaving roughly $16 million still needed to…