Although this summer has quickly flown by, it has included significant progress in planning and constructing state-owned projects. The Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS) Project has reached several milestones, including the completion of the South Prairie Reservoir, flow control facility, and hydraulic control structure. Construction is ongoing on contracts at the Snake Creek Pumping Plant for the NAWS intake, the discharge pipeline connecting the Snake Creek Pumping Plant to the NAWS transmission pipeline, the Biota Water Treatment Plant, and the Bottineau Reservoir and Pump Station.
For the Biota Water Treatment Plant, plans are underway to complete the startup and commissioning using water from the Sundre aquifer. This will allow City of Minot employees to train and learn how to operate the plant over the winter months, ensuring a smooth transition with Lake Sakakawea water. Lake Sakakawea water is expected to be delivered to the plant in summer 2025. Progress is also being made on designing the permanent intake pipeline and screen structure for NAWS, with the Section 408 review application submitted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The Southwest Pipeline Project (SWPP) has also seen advancements, including identifying current and future needs to aid in designing a main transmission line expansion. This expansion will deliver water to communities, rural customers, and economic development west of Dickinson. Hydraulic improvement projects in four service areas were completed this summer, increasing capacity to serve over 100 wait-listed rural customers. Significant progress has been made on the design of the Southwest Water Treatment Plant expansion, with bidding anticipated this fall or winter. The Department of Water Resources (Department) is also working with Southwest Water Authority to determine the next steps for rural expansion in the Burt-Hebron service areas.
As the Department and the State Water Commission (SWC) work to advance water supply infrastructure across the state, partnerships with federal agencies are crucial. Identifying project locations, assessing impacts, and communicating needs are essential for the permitting processes associated with these projects. The Department and the SWC appreciate the efforts of these agencies in ensuring timely permit reviews, which help meet project milestones and achieve successful completions.
The Department and the SWC spent considerable time gathering information through basin meetings to develop the 2025 Water Development Plan (WDP). Eight basin meetings were held with 180 attendees, and nearly 600 project proposals were submitted as part of the project inventory process. About 550 of these proposals will be included in the 2025 WDP, totaling over $1.4 billion in potential cost-share needs from the state. This plan will assist in developing the 2025-2027 budget for water infrastructure. The Department and the SWC appreciate the time stakeholders, legislators, and community leaders took to provide valuable feedback.
Red Tape Reduction remains a key initiative, with recent legislative sessions passing five agency-sponsored bills. The Department is currently drafting bills for consideration in the upcoming session and has implemented several new and updated sections of Administrative Code - effective July 1, 2024. We welcome any ideas or concerns related to the Department processes as we work to streamline and improve service delivery.
The Department is also engaged in various economic development discussions across the state. If you are working on a project or hearing of a development, please contact the Department early in the process. We strive to provide information on water availability and permitting requirements for project planning. However, review of water permit applications is necessary to ensure existing water rights are not adversely affected.
Finally, the Department hosted the Western States Water Council in Fargo in late July. Seventeen western states were represented, and attendees toured the Fargo Wastewater Treatment Plant, Grand Farm, and the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion. The Department also appreciated attending summer water tours organized by the North Dakota Water Education Foundation. These partnerships are vital for water project development and management decisions.
As fall approaches, we look forward to engaging with you in the field, at conferences, and in discussions that will lead to collaborative approaches in North Dakota’s complex water environment.
Planning & Education Division
To Provide a change of pace and to offer a different perspective, the next few issues of The Current will include write-ups from each of the DWR’s division directors. As the Planning and Education (P&E) Division Director, I’m excited for the opportunity to tell you about our twelve-member team, to provide an overview of responsibilities, and to cover a few project updates related to efforts we’ve been working on.
Our Water Resource Planners are Cory Drevecky and Kyle Yrkoski. Cory and Kyle are responsible for efforts related to the Water Development Plan, including organizing the recently completed Commissioner-hosted basin meetings, Environmental Review coordination, Drought Disaster Livestock Water Supply Program management (when activated), educational publication creation/updates, and DWR articles for ND Water magazine.
The Cost-Share Program team is made up of five members. Julie Prescott and Lori Noack specialize in water supply projects, while Abigail Franklund and Beth Nangare specialize in flood protection and general water projects. Their responsibilities include working with project sponsors to get cost-share applications submitted correctly, cost-share application processing, Water Commission memorandums, sponsor agreements, sponsor invoice reviews, and related reimbursement requests.
The other member of our Cost-Share Program team is Dr. Duane Pool, who is DWR’s Natural Resource Economist. Duane is primarily responsible for supporting DWR and Water Commission requirements related to project life cycle cost analyses, economic analyses, asset inventory assessments, and capital improvement planning. As one of the state’s few economists, Duane’s expertise has also been frequently relied upon by other agencies conducting various types of market and salary analyses.
DWR’s water education, communication, and public outreach efforts are supported by Tina Harding Iken, Cam Wright, and Sheila Fryer. Tina is our Water Education Program Manager. She oversees our Water Education Today (WET) programming efforts, coordinates DWR support of water festivals across the state for dozens of school districts and thousands of students each year, offers facilitator training to make sure we can support the WET program statewide, and participates in a broad spectrum of other educational events on behalf of DWR.
Cam is DWR’s Communications Manager, which includes media relations, news releases, general internal and external communication, presentation coordination, video production, and social media presence. Cam is also frequently involved in other informational and educational material development, including managing the content you see here in The Current newsletter!
Sheila is DWR’s Graphic Artist, offering her technical and artistic talents to make the publications, presentations, articles, website, reports, social media graphics, etc., from DWR look professional and easy to interpret.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we have Dawn Martin, who has supported our entire team as the Administrative Assistant for P&E, as well as the Regulatory and Water Development Divisions. After 32 years of dedicated service to the people of North Dakota, Dawn retired effective July 31. DWR and the P&E Division are excited for Dawn and her new adventure. She will most certainly be missed by all of us.
Following Dawn’s retirement, we have very recently added Michelle Gerrity to fill the Administrative Assistant role. We’re excited to have Michelle as part of the P&E team and encourage you to learn more about her in the new team member section of The Current.
To close out this P&E Division overview, there’s no way I can talk about all the great work our team has been involved with, but there are a few projects and accomplishments I’d like to summarize before signing off.
Commissioner-Hosted Basin Meetings: Eight meetings were hosted by Commission members in June and July within each of the basins represented by Commissioners. Check out the article included in this issue of The Current to learn more about the success of the 2024 meetings.
2025 Water Development Plan: More than 600 project information planning forms were submitted as part of the 2025 project inventory and planning effort. All were reviewed and prioritized, and of the total submitted, more than 500 were identified as having potential financial needs from the state of $1.4 billion for the 2025-2027 biennium. Our team members will work hard to make sure the 2025 Water Development Plan and Dashboard are completed by the end of this year in advance of the next Legislative Session.
ND Water Resources Map: The last time DWR completed the very popular ND Water Resources Map was nearly a decade ago. Be on the lookout for a new and improved version coming soon! We’ll send out a notice via social media to let people know when they’re available. To see what the 2015 version of the map looks like as a reminder, click here.
Basic Asset Inventory Assessment & Capital Improvement Planning (BAIA & CIP): To comply with new Cost-Share Program requirements, an electronic fillable BAIA and CIP tool and guidance were completed to assist water supply project sponsors. Two tutorial workshops were also held to assist sponsors and consultants with better understanding the tools and guidance.
Cost-Share Assistance: Since the beginning of the 2023-2025 biennium, more than $400 million in water supply, flood protection, and general water management cost-share requests have been processed for approval.
Water Festivals & Outreach Events: So far in 2024, DWR has helped to offer ten water festivals across the state involving approximately 2,500 third through sixth grade students! Water festivals are important because they provide opportunities for students to learn about water and land resources directly from trained facilitators or professionals in related fields.
As you can see, the P&E team is lean in number, but they have an abundance of responsibility and talent, which is what you will find throughout all of DWR’s divisions. I am incredibly grateful to work with my fellow team members, and our division looks forward to working with each of you who are reading this to manage and develop North Dakota’s water resources for the citizens of this great state.
2024 Water Commissioner-Hosted Basin Meetings
Each biennium, Water Commission members host public meetings within their representative basins per NDCC 61-02-01.3. Commissioner-hosted basin meetings occurred during the months of June and July. In all, eight public meetings were conducted in Jamestown, Fargo, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Bismarck, New Town, Dickinson and Minot. Each meeting followed a similar agenda, consisting of a presentation with updates from the Commissioner, Department of Water Resource (DWR), State Water Commission (SWC), project summaries from sponsors, and other public comments.
Several stakeholders expressed gratitude to the SWC and DWR for past and current support. Many attendees presented project updates and communicated local water management issues their working to address.
On behalf of the Water Commission members and DWR staff, we would like to extend a thank you to everyone who attended and participated!
The following includes a summary of the eight basin meetings.
James River - Commissioner Connie Ova
- Monday, June 17, 10:00 AM
- City Hall - Lower-Level Conference Room
- 19 Attendees
Upper Red River - Commissioner April Walker
- Monday, June 17, 3:00 PM
- Dr. James Carlson Library
- 23 Attendees
Lower Red River - Commissioner Michael Anderson
- Tuesday, June 18, 9:00 AM
- City Council Chambers
- 23 Attendees
Devils Lake - Commissioner Jeff Frith
- Tuesday, June 18, 3:00 PM
- Lake Region State College - Chautauqua Gallery
- 7 Attendees
Lower Missouri River - Commissioner Jay Volk
- Monday, June 24, 3:00 PM
- Bank of North Dakota - Lewis and Clark Room
- 27 Attendees
Upper Missouri River - Commissioner Gene Veeder
- Thursday, June 27, 10:00 AM
- Four Bears Casino and Lodge
- 16 Attendees
Little Missouri, Upper Heart, & Upper Cannonball - Commissioner James Odermann
- Thursday, June 27, 3:00 PM (MT)
- Stark-Billings NDSU Extension Office
- 30 Attendees
Mouse River - Commissioner Jason Zimmerman
- Wednesday, July 10, 3:00 PM
- Sleep Inn and Suites Conference Center – Sunrise Board Room
- 34 Attendees
In The Clouds: New Educational Campaign From The DWR
The DWR has launched a new educational campaign titled In the Clouds, which explores cloud seeding and weather modification in North Dakota.
What is cloud seeding?
We will get into more detail about the science behind cloud seeding in an upcoming installment, but here are the basics:
Cloud seeding can be done in warm or cold weather, depending on desired outcome. In North Dakota, we do warm weather seeding, to enhance rain and suppress damaging hail.
Cloud seeding is a safe and scientific set of technologies used to enhance precipitation and reduce hail damage.
Silver iodide and dry ice are "seeded" into clouds via airplanes. They attract supercooled water droplets and aid their transition into ice crystals, which fall to the earth as rain. If the conditions are right for hail, the seeding provides more particles for the water droplets to adhere to, decreasing the size of the hail, and as a result, reducing damages.
Does silver iodide have an effect on the environment?
Published scientific literature shows no environmentally harmful effect from cloud seeding with silver iodide aerosols. The silver concentration in rainwater from a seeded storm is far below acceptable environmental concentrations of 50 micrograms per liter as set by the U.S. Public Health Service. Because silver iodide is such an effective ice nucleus, it is used in very small quantities. Based on the average rate of seeding material used in North Dakota each summer, less than one-hundredth of a gram (0.01g) would be expected to fall on an acre of land during the summer project.
Cloud Seeding in North Dakota
Four counties in North Dakota: Mountrail, Williams, McKenzie, Bowman, as well as townships in Slope County, participate in the North Dakota Cloud Modification Program (NDCMP).
History of North Dakota Cloud Modification Program (NDCMP)
Cloud seeding is nothing new in North Dakota. The first seeding attempts in the state were in 1948. Once project areas were established, ground-based seeding was used until aircraft became the preferred seeding method in 1960.
The State Legislature created the ND Weather Modification Board in 1975 to provide regulatory functions, operational support, conduct research and evaluations, and provide state cost-share funding.
Counties vote to opt in to the NDCMP. The county commission then creates a 5-member "Weather Modification Authority" to oversee each county's project.
For the programs to continue, County Commissions must reauthorize their participation every five years.
Who decides which clouds are seeded?
Radar meteorologists, located at Bowman and Stanley, direct operations for cloud seeding missions. In addition to weather conditions, a number of factors play a part in the decision-making process including input from participating counties, safety criteria, radar information, pilot observations, and aircraft instrument data.
What are the goals of cloud seeding?
- Enhance rainfall by helping clouds become more efficient rain producers, promoting better soil conditions for farmers.
- Suppress hail by providing more particles for droplets to adhere to before falling to the ground. Smaller hail has a better chance of melting completely and is less harmful to crops and buildings.
Coming up... In the Clouds
In our next installments of In the Clouds: The science behind cloud seeding from the sky to the soil, what the studies are saying about its efficacy, and benefits for ag producers.
Bathymetric Survey Conducted On Red River Of The North
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) survey crews have navigated through hundreds of river miles and woody debris gathering crucial data points along the river’s course for future planning studies.
Through a cooperative effort with the North Dakota Department of Water Resources (DWR), the project, known as the Red River of the North Bathymetric Study, involved the St. Paul District team of the ERDC gathering 444 river miles of bathymetry data on the main stem channel for the Bois de Sioux and Red River of the North from White Rock Dam to the Canadian border.
“The Department of Water Resources and State Water Commission were proud to help sponsor the bathymetric data collection project in partnership with the Corps,” said DWR Director Andrea Travnicek. “The Red River of the North is a complicated system with a long history of flood-related challenges. With the availability of this data supporting future decision-making and prediction processes, we’re improving on our resilience to future flood impacts.”
In May 2024, an amended partnership agreement was executed between the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the DWR. The amended total project cost is $485,000, with the State of North Dakota and the federal government evenly splitting the revised amount.
The data collection started May 2024 and spanned 10 weeks. The information will be combined with existing Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data adjacent to the project to provide a seamless elevation data set. Multiple survey boats and crews were required to complete the work in a single field season, which was approximately 60 workdays (plus travel days).
“Gathering a large data set in these challenging conditions allows us to understand the river's current state with unprecedented detail, offering a stark comparison to conditions just a decade ago,” said Karla Sparks, program manager with the USACE. “This wealth of data not only enhances our ability to predict and manage future flood events but also underscores the evolving dynamics of our natural environments."
The bathymetry study, conducted under the Corps’ Planning Assistance to States (PAS) program, helps provide consistent data along the mainstem of the Red River of the North, one of the most flood-prone basins in the state. The data collected through this effort is crucial for water managers to compare data from pre- and post-surveys to assess changes accurately and inform hydraulics and hydrology modeling, levee protection, and future flood risk reduction efforts.
Geographic information specialists will now evaluate the data and develop several products releasable to state and federal partners, as well as the public. The final product is targeted for release by December 2024 to ensure meticulous data collection and analysis within the specified timeframe.
Welcome To The Team!
Kyle Yrkoski
Kyle Yrkoski has joined the DWR as a Planner III in the Planning and Education Division. In his role at DWR, Kyle will manage, administer, and coordinate the agency’s Environmental/Project Review Program, as well as the Drought Disaster Livestock Water Supply Assistance program (when activated). He will also participate in the agency’s drone program, publication development, and representing the agency on various boards and committees.
Kyle’s previous experience includes working for Nebraska’s Natural Resource Districts for several years. His duties there included work on water quality, quantity, and conservation programs.
Born and raised in the small town of Clarks, Nebraska, Kyle grew up on a farm/ranch that his family has owned for more than 100 years, and he also owns a farm himself. Kyle holds those two things very dear to his heart.
Faith, family, and farming are pillars in Kyle’s life, but he also enjoys fishing, hunting, golfing, and mushroom hunting to name a few. He married his wife, Jacinta, in December in Jacksonville, Florida and the newlyweds are excited to welcome their first little one in October. Jacinta’s hobbies include Pro-life work and sewing.
Saber Aradpour
Saber Aradpour has joined the DWR as a Hydrologist II. He will focus on studying groundwater resources in his position.
Saber was born in Arak, Iran, and began his academic endeavors earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He then decided to change paths and went on to get his master’s degree in water resources engineering, where he focused on inland surface waters. His research resulted in many published works in prominent science journals.
Saber came to the United States in July 2021, when he started his Ph.D. studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where his focus was on marine environments. Saber is a huge Tigers fan. Geaux Tigers!
During his Ph.D. pursuit, Saber focused on using remote sensing data to detect contamination of oysters with certain bacteria. He collaborated extensively with Southern University and Louisiana Tech.
“During my Ph.D. studies, I was working on a “NASA Safe Oyster” project funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents and NASA,” Saber said. “My work was to develop a machine learning model using satellite remote sensing data to detect contamination of oysters with a certain bacteria called “Vibrio Vulnificus.” During this period, I developed a machine learning model for estimating solar radiation across the ocean using satellite remote sensing data. This work was published in the Journal of ‘Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.” Also, using a similar approach, I developed models for estimating Sea Surface Salinity and pH, which I am working on writing the paper. My work resulted in four nowcasting/forecasting models capable of predicting oyster contamination with Vibrio Vulnificus in coastal waters of the United States. I am preparing the paper for this current work.”
Saber hopes the models that he helped develop will be integrated into an application to send alerts to farmers telling them not to harvest oysters from the contaminated areas.
“Since I have worked on inland surface waters and marine environments, I am excited about this role and embrace this opportunity to explore the groundwater sector,” Saber said.
When Saber isn’t busy working on saving water ecosystems, he likes to travel and is a history buff. He also likes to camp, kayak, go cycling, fishing, shoot archery, and pretty much anything outdoorsy. When weather doesn’t cooperate, he enjoys reading the occasional book or meeting up with friends for conversation or playing video games.
Travis Johnson
The DWR is excited to welcome Travis Johnson as the new NAWS Project Manager. Travis will manage ongoing construction work and operations of the distribution side of NAWS. He will also plan and budget for future phased construction of the NAWS system.
“I am looking forward to applying my knowledge of the NAWS system from my 22 years at Houston Engineering towards present and future construction projects on NAWS and operation of those phases currently in place that are already being utilized for delivery of water,” Travis said.
Before joining the DWR team, Travis worked at Houston Engineering for more than 22 years. In that time, he worked his way up from being an engineering intern working in the field doing construction observation (mostly on the NAWS project, ironically) to managing a team of field representatives, to office work including design and project management, to eventually the position of senior project manager.
Travis grew up near Frazee, MN and later moved to Fergus Falls before attending NDSU where he earned a degree in civil engineering. He was also in the Air Force and served as a communications computer systems operator from 1992 to 1996.
He is married and has two daughters, Alina who is 14, and Mariah who is 11.
Travis enjoys the outdoors: fishing at the lake, kayaking, or just relaxing by the campfire. But when he’s at home, Travis likes to garden and has a somewhat unique hobby. He is known for owning several axes and splitting mauls, and for cutting and splitting firewood by hand… for fun. Which comes in handy when he is relaxing by the campfire at the lake after a long day on the water.
Michelle Gerrity
We’re excited to introduce Michelle Gerrity who joins us as an Administrative Assistant II. In this role, Michelle will primarily support the Planning and Education Department, while also assisting with tasks for the Regulatory and Water Development Departments.
Originally from Newburg, ND, Michelle graduated from Bismarck State College with an associate’s degree in business management. Before joining us, Michelle spent 14 years as the head secretary at Bismarck Public Schools, where she honed her skills in organization and administration.
Outside of work, Michelle enjoys walking and spending time in Montana. She’s been happily married to her husband, Josh, for 26 years, and together they have three wonderful children: Logan (23), Miranda (21), and Brady (18).
Michelle is eager to meet and collaborate with everyone here, and she invites you to stop by and say hi!
“Thank you for giving me such a warm welcome to the team!” she added.
Promotions
Sid Abudureyimu
Congratulations to Sid Abudureyimu, who was recently promoted from a Hydrogeologist II to Hydrogeologist III in the Water Appropriation Division. Sid said he will welcome the new challenges and learning more about the various types of water permitting and developing long-term aquifer monitoring plans via drilling test holes and installing monitoring wells in project areas. He also looks forward to mentoring junior hydrologists.
Michaela Halvorson
Michaela Halvorson has been promoted from a Surface Water Hydrologist III to Hydrologist Manager in the Water Permit Administration Section of the Water Appropriation Division. She is excited for her new position because it “presents an opportunity to take on more responsibility and contribute to DWR’s success in a more impactful way. I am particularly looking forward to the new learning opportunity this role offers, allowing me to grow personally and professionally,” Michaela said.
Sam DeVries
Sam DeVries was recently promoted from a Hydrologist II to Hydrologist III in the Water Appropriation Division. He looks forward to taking on more surface water challenges within the program, as well as helping new hydrologists understand our program and policies. “I will continue to be involved in complex water projects and permitting that affects the citizens of North Dakota, and many of the projects are long term and may span the length of my career,” Sam said. “ I want to continue to be an integral part of the surface water appropriations team, working hard to permit water for those who can utilize it. I hope we can continue to improve our processes and decrease lead times for folks who need water quickly, while ensuring that water is available for all senior appropriators.”
Darron Nichols
Darron Nichols was recently promoted from the Water Resource Project Manager (construction lead) to the Water Resource Senior Manager.
He is enjoying the opportunity to work closely with all the DWR staff, field engineers, distribution line operators, contractors, and landowners in his new position.
“The effort put forward to bring clean potable water to many areas that need it means a lot to so many people,” Darron said. “I am fortunate enough to be able to help the effort to continue to bring more clean water to more people.”
Darron, whose family farm is hooked up to rural water, says he knows firsthand what potable water means for rural families.
“I am lucky enough to know personally what effects clean water makes on everyday lives,” Darron said.
He added: “I am very excited about what this new position within the DWR has in store and what I can be able to learn and contribute.”
North Dakota Hosts Western States Water Council Summer Meeting
North Dakota welcomed water representatives from 17 western states for the 204th Western States Water Council (WSWC) meeting July 24-26 in West Fargo, ND.
The summit kicked off Thursday with a tour of different water projects in the Fargo-Moorhead metro. The tour visited the expanding Fargo Wastewater Treatment Plant, the innovative ag tech incubator at Grand Farm near Wheatland, and the Fargo-Moorhead area diversion infrastructure.
Several presentations were also delivered during the summit, including updates from member states, burgeoning groundwater initiatives, emerging technologies for data collection and storage, regional water concerns, and the WSWC’s position on various legal and legislative issues, to name a few.
The next WSWC meeting will be in Lawrence, KS this fall.
Water Commission Meeting Approvals
At the June 13, 2024, meeting, the Commission approved $72.6 million in cost-share for 15 projects.
At the August 8, 2024, meeting, the Commission approved $6.1 million in cost-share for 12 projects.