Water Management Board approves two irrigation permits near South Shore

The South Dakota Water Management Board voted July 8 to approve two deferred irrigation permit applications that would authorize additional irrigated acres from wells completed into the Antelope Valley aquifer.

Acting chief engineer Adam Mathiewitz told the board the updated hydrologic budget — incorporating the staff delineation of the Antelope Valley and a recharge estimate used in the Milbank review — supports recommended approval of permit 9019-3 (addition of 25 acres to an existing irrigation water right) and 9022-3 (addition of 40 acres to an existing irrigation water right). The staff recommendations included standard qualifications intended to reduce the probability of well interference: control of withdrawals so domestic wells and previously authorized water supplies are not reduced, licensed well construction, pressure grouting and annual irrigation questionnaires.

Board members moved and seconded motions to approve each permit; roll-call votes were recorded in the hearing transcript and each motion carried. The minutes record multiple 'aye' votes and "motion carried" outcomes for both applications.

What was decided: Both irrigation permits were approved under the staff-recommended qualifications. The approvals include customary well-interference language and annual reporting requirements.

Why it matters: Even modest added irrigation development can affect localized groundwater dynamics in smaller, shallow aquifers. Staff framed the approvals as consistent with their updated hydrologic budget; intervenors previously had asked for deferral pending the outcome of Milbank’s contested future-use reservation.

Next step: Permit holders must comply with the permit qualifications and reporting obligations; any neighbors with concerns about actual impacts retain the program’s complaint and investigation process under existing rules.