Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base are working closely together to provide clean water to residents inside and outside Rapid City’s borders.
This comes as the base deals with an ongoing problem – firefighting chemicals used long ago.
The homes dealing with the issue are near Country Road and Box Elder on the border of the communities and approaching New Underwood. The base is located inside Box Elder.
An agreement made at Rapid City's latest council meeting between the base and community extends the water system to the homes most impacted by these chemicals.
Chemicals used in firefighting foam have polluted some surrounding wells in the area. While many entities, including the Air Force, have phased out the use of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” the effects can linger for decades.
However, the matter was first questioned by the board. It was pulled by Ward 2 alderman Lindsey Seachris.
“This includes just over 9,000 linear feet of extension of 16-inch water main to Box Elder residents impacted by PFAS/PFO issues," Seachris said. "While I am in support of efforts to assist our neighbors, I just wondered if our public works department could provide a little bit of background into how we negotiated the term for 20-year access to unlimited water source?”
That was answered by public works director Dale Tech. He says it’s been a multi-year negotiation process between the city and residents with known contaminated water.
“The nearly two miles of large-diameter water main far exceeds the value of what we believe the water will be given away to these property owners," Tech said. "There are limits though, this isn’t unlimited water for them. It’s only for domestic use and some small agriculture use if they have, let’s say some livestock they’re watering, but it’s not for irrigation of crops.”
Funding for the project is provided partially by the US Air Force.