Milbank council approves application for up to $39M to build 2.0 MGD iron-removal plant

Milbank City Council voted Dec. 8 to authorize submission of a funding application to the South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources for up to $39,000,000 to design a 2.0 million-gallon-per-day iron and manganese removal plant. The council amended Resolution 12-8-25A to change the proposed capacity from 3.0 MGD to 2.0 MGD before approving the application; the motion carried 6-0.

Banner Associates consultant Sara Pankonin told the council Milbank’s water comes from three springs and three wells and that iron concentrations in the aquifer have risen for decades. She presented three alternatives: a 2.0 MGD conventional gravity-filtration plant (approximate estimate $36 million), acquiring Antelope Valley water rights plus a pressure-filter plant (just over $40 million), or connecting to the Grant Roberts system (currently about 0.25 MGD in summer; could reach 0.7 MGD if upgraded, with Milbank responsible for its share of costs). Pankonin noted that the proposed Phase 1 iron/manganese plant would not remove hardness, sodium or sulfate and recommended household reverse-osmosis units to address those constituents after iron removal.

The application deadline is Jan. 1, 2026; consultants said state review is expected in March and a final local funding decision could follow in April or May. Officials warned that grant availability will strongly affect monthly bills: estimates presented put bills at roughly $80 per household with grant funding and closer to $100 without grant assistance. Mayor Pat Raffety framed the choice as a community decision, observing that most complaints involve discolored or rusty solids and asking whether the complaint rate justifies the long-term costs: "If we get 100 complaints, that's about 3% of the population." The resolution designates the mayor as the city's authorized representative to certify and sign payment requests if funding is awarded.