Water Plant ribon cutting
Water Plant ribon cutting
By Jerry W. Kram
About 5,000 people will now have a secure supply of fresh water for the foreseeable future as dignitaries gathered for the official grand opening of the Parshall City Water Treatment plan.
The plant, which has been operating for a few months, got its official opening on June 26 as city and state officials, along with engineers and operators, gathered to for a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The plant is located on the shore of Lake Sakakawea, about seven miles south and 10 miles east of Parshall. The location was chosen because that is where the original riverbed of the Missouri River comes closest to shore. Mayor Richard Bolkan said the location was chosen because the intake for Parshall’s old water plant was in shallower water in the Van Hook Arm of the lake and was nearly left high and dry when lake levels hit record lows about 12 years ago.
Bolkan said the plant kills two birds with one stone, providing water for rural residents as well as a secure water supply for the growing community of Parshall. The plant can treat 2.5 million gallons of water a day.
“The biggest factor is the tribal rural water,” Bolkan said. “There are many houses out here that have either no water or very poor quality water. In the city, our plant was 30 to 35 years old, so it was in the last phases of its life. This plant fixes all our problems. It fixes the tribal problem of finding water and fixes our problem of needing a new plant.”
Bolkan said the plant wouldn’t have been built without the cooperation of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Bob Valeu, who was a staff person for former Senator Byron Dorgan, said Parshall and the tribe both approached Dorgan to help develop a better water supply.
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