Garrison Diversion awards Water Supply Assistance Grants

CARRINGTON, N.D. – The Garrison Diversion Conservancy District’s (Garrison Diversion) MR&I Water Supply Assistance Grant Program provides funding assistance to offset the costs of new customer hookups to a rural water system or district within Garrison Diversion’s member counties.

The Water Supply Assistance Grant Program is also in place to aid municipal water systems or districts with extraordinary OM&R projects or emergencies impacting the delivery of water to users, introduce health and safety issues, or bring potential harm to other infrastructure if not repaired.

“One of Garrison Diversion’s key priorities is to support rural water in North Dakota. Through the Water Supply Assistance Grant program, we are helping to provide a better quality of life for our citizens and strengthen our rural communities,” says Geneva Kaiser, Chair of Garrison Diversion’s MR&I Committee. “This program is an excellent example of giving back to our district.”

In August, the MR&I Committee awarded $113,438 to 18 water users in the district for residential, livestock and business use.

The following systems had projects receiving funding from the Water Supply Assistance Grant Program:

• All Seasons Water Users District - $10,000 for one customer hookup

• Barnes Rural Water District - $23,775 for three customer hookups

• Cass Rural Water District - $17,438 for two customer hookups

• Central Plains Water District - $10,000 for one customer hookup

• North Prairie Regional Water District - $18,463 for two customer hookups

• Southeast Water Users District - $18,322 for three customer hookups

• Stutsman Rural Water District - $15,440 for six customer hookups

There are two grant application periods each year. The next deadline for new customer hookup applications is May 1. There continues to be no deadline on extraordinary OM&R projects, as these will occur on an as-needed basis.

Eligibility requirements state the applicant must reside within one of Garrison Diversion’s 28 member counties, must be or have a member sponsor that is a political subdivision (municipality or rural water district), and a municipality must serve a population of 5,000 people or less.

Grant guidelines and applications can be found at http://www.garrisondiversion.org.