North Dakota Department of Water Resources details projects, funding shortfalls and data initiatives

Rhys Haas, director of the North Dakota Department of Water Resources, gave a first‑day presentation to the House Appropriations Committee describing the agency’s organization, major projects and funding outlook.

Haas said the department’s “mission is to responsibly manage North Dakota’s water needs, and risks for the people's benefits,” and described a mix of statewide programs including a cost‑share program funded from the Resources Trust Fund, regulatory duties, dam safety and data collection initiatives.

The department told lawmakers it manages 93 full‑time employees across administrative, regulatory, appropriations and planning divisions and that the Resources Trust Fund—seeded by oil extraction tax revenue—remains the primary source for state water investments. Chris Katamus, director of administrative services for the department, told the committee the department’s current carryover estimate range is “from 560,000,000 to $653,000,000,” and said the final carryover amount will depend on project sponsors’ progress.

Why this matters: the department’s 10‑year water development plan identifies roughly $2.9 billion in needs while projected oil tax deposits are far smaller; leaders told the committee the Resources Trust Fund alone will not meet long‑term demand.

Major projects and timelines - Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS): department staff said NAWS will serve about 81,000 users, 10 public systems and that construction has faced international concerns in the past over cross‑basin transfer; officials estimate Lake Sakakawea water could begin delivering into the NAWS system in 2025. The department reported combined funding sources for the first year of the current biennium including $6.9 million from the city of Minot, $12.6 million federal and $9.5 million from the Resources Trust Fund. - Southwest Pipeline Project: the department reported the system will serve about 58,000 people in the southwest portion of the state, including some industrial oil‑and‑gas uses. The west zone construction is anticipated in summer 2025, and expansion of the southwest water treatment plant is planned. - Devil’s Lake outlets: the department operates two outlets and said operation requires balancing lake level management with water‑quality concerns downstream (including transboundary interest from Canada and Minnesota). Water Development Division Director Sunduja S. Palai Granols estimated 2024 outlet operations reduced Devil’s Lake by about 0.7 foot and said staff will provide detailed cost and days‑pumped figures on request. The department reported completed preventative maintenance and planned sediment removal in spring 2025.

Permits, temporary water use and aquifer programs Department staff reported year‑to‑date regulatory activity including 20 drainage permits, 29 construction permits and 30 sovereign‑lands permits. The office received 64 new water‑appropriation applications in 2024 and issued 42 of those; the department reported it canceled 82 permits and “perfected” 39 (reducing permit amounts to actual use). It also reported 682 temporary water permits issued, primarily to industrial oil‑and‑gas activities.

Officials emphasized that, by volume, irrigation and municipal uses remain the largest consumptive categories, even though industrial temporary permits have grown since the 2010s oil boom. State Engineer John Paskowski described a Phase‑1 managed aquifer recharge study the department completed; later phases will examine potential water sources such as Red River Valley Water Supply for recharge.

Data collection and technology Haas highlighted the department’s data investments: statewide LIDAR (quality level 2 statewide, quality level 1 in ~25–30 population centers), an in‑house “presence” network of more than 600 automated monitoring units and over 28 million data points collected in 2024. Aaron Grawan, director of the regulatory division, said the LIDAR products create one‑foot contours in many places and can often give homeowners a useful estimate when considering FEMA maps, though surveyors remain the standard for formal Letters of Map Amendment.

Budget, funds and policy Haas and staff noted the Resources Trust Fund receives about 20.5 percent of the state’s oil extraction tax. The department reported the Water Project Stabilization Fund (created in the 2021 special session) held a $150 million balance last biennium and that the legislature previously allocated $120 million to the Red River Valley Water Supply project and $30 million toward a loan payoff. The department said the stabilization and trust funds will be largely allocated by the end of the biennium and that the rural water bucket is expected to be fully obligated by the February water commission meeting.

The department also noted policy changes and stakeholder engagement on cost‑share rules and that House Bill 1385 from the previous session made tribal nations eligible for cost‑share participation; officials said a few tribal governments have already used the program.

Follow‑up and next steps Haas said the department will provide additional details requested by committee members, including: (1) costs and pumping days for Devil’s Lake outlet operation in 2024, (2) the department’s longer list of 10‑year projects beyond its high‑priority items, and (3) a list of shovel‑ready projects with anticipated completion horizons. The director also noted that Governor Armstrong’s budget would be announced the coming Monday and that the department had 11 agency‑sponsored bills filed for the session.