News from Clay Rural Water System

Clay Rural Water Holds 29^th Annual Meeting

Approximately 75 members attended the Clay Rural Water Systems’ twenty-ninth annual meeting held March 29 at the St. Agnes School Auditorium in Vermillion.

Members heard reports from officers and staff, who reviewed the Systems’ financial and operating statistics for 2007.

Tim Cowman of the Missouri River Institute gave a historical presentation on the steamboat era on the Missouri River and most notably the wreck of the steamboat the North Alabama west of Vermillion.

The results of the recent District Elections were also announced. One member of the Board of Directors was re-elected while two new system members were elected for their first terms. Craig Nelson of Vermillion was re-elected for his third. Bob Wood of Vermillion was elected for his first term as was Vic Hendriks of Jefferson.

Two retiring Directors were also recognized. Glenn Nelson has represented District I and Dave Heeren, District II. Both were elected to the Board in 1999. Chairman Craig Nelson presented each with the Clay Rural Water Achievement Award.

Following the annual meeting the Board of Directors re-organized and elected officers for the coming year. Craig Nelson of Vermillion was elected President, Duane Holoch of Vermillion was elected Vice-President and Jim Ross of Richland, Secretary-Treasurer.

DENR RECOGNIZES CLAY RURAL WATER SYSTEM AND CLAY RWS/SOUTH UNION SYSTEM FOR DRINKING WATER COMPLIANCE

Pierre, SD - The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced today that the Clay Rural Water System and the Clay RWS/South Union Water System and the system's certified operators have been awarded a Drinking Water Certificate of Achievement Award. The award is for outstanding water system operations and environmental compliance with state drinking water standards for the past year.

The system's certified operators are Gregory Merrigan, Tom Hollingsworth, Phil Iverson, Mike Schuldt and Evan Peterson.

"The best bargain in South Dakota is reliable, high quality, safe water from your public drinking water systems - 24 hours per day - 7 days a week," said DENR Secretary Steve Pirner. "The managers and operators receiving this DENR award guaranteed their water was safe by achieving 100% compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act during 2007."

To qualify for the Drinking Water Certificate of Achievement Award, public water systems and their operators had to meet all of the following requirements for 2007: compliance monitoring; drinking water standards; distribute a Drinking Water Report; lead/copper action levels, and comply with operator certification requirements.

Clay Rural Water System

Has the “Best Tasting Drinking Water In South Dakota”

Pierre, SD – After two rounds of blind taste tests, two different panels of judges have decided that the winner and bragging rights for the title of “Best Tasting Drinking Water in South Dakota” goes to the Clay Rural Water System. The South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems announced the results of their seventh annual Taste Test at their 33^rd Annual Meeting, January 10^th, in Pierre, SD. The Clay Rural Water System will represent South Dakota at the National Taste Test held in Washington, DC, April 20^th to 23^rd.

The South Dakota Rural Water Annual Technical Conference was held January 8-10, 2008. There were over 400 registered attendees representing South Dakota’s rural and municipal water and wastewater systems. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in training sessions on a wide variety of topics ranging from management, emergency response, to operations. The exhibit hall consisted of 73 exhibitors and doubled as the site for the annual legislative reception with a total attendance this year in excess of 600 attendees. This is the largest water and wastewater industry event in South Dakota.

The Clay Rural Water System provides drinking water to over 2,000 farms, homes and businesses in parts for five counties in southeast South Dakota. The water system was incorporated in 1975 and annually distributes over 250 million gallons of water to its members.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has honored the Clay Rural Water System of Wakonda, SD, with a 2006 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Award for Sustainable Health Protection. Clay RWS is one of thirty recipients nationwide to receive the award.

Andrea Griese of the EPA’s Area Office in Pierre presented the award to water system officials June 20. The awards annually recognize the most innovative and effective DWSRF projects. Each state in the nation nominated one project that was funded with DWSRF funds. Clay RWS utilized a $4.3 loan from the fund to construct the South Union Expansion Project. The project expanded rural water service to 370 locations in southern Union County. The total project budget was $5.7 million. The South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which administers the EPA loan program in South Dakota, nominated Clay RWS for the award.

“The Clay Rural Water System project will increase service reliability and water quality and is an excellent example of sound asset management,” said EPA Region 8 Administrator Robert E. Roberts. “This EPA award recognizes exceptional creativity in designing projects that promote sustainability and protect public health.”

The project was constructed in 2006-2007 and included a new state-of-the-art reverse osmosis water treatment plant; a 250,000 gallon elevated storage tank and 80 miles of distribution pipeline. The project serves 140 rural users located between Elk Point and North Sioux City. Service is also provided to 230 residents located in the Deer Run, Wynstone, Sandy Mead and Riv-R-Land housing developments. Residents in the Deer Run and Riv-R-Land developments were in violation of federal drinking water standards as high levels of radium were detected in the wells serving the developments. The project helped to provide those residents with a new safe source of water.

The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act established the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program to make funds available to drinking water systems to finance infrastructure improvements.