ND Rural Water Systems Association celebrates 50 years

BISMARCK, ND (kxnet) — Members of the North Dakota Rural Water Systems Association (NDRWSA) celebrated their 50th Anniversary on Tuesday, July 16, at North Dakota’s Gateway to Science in Bismarck.

The association was established with a mission to ensure that all North Dakotans had access to affordable and clean drinking water. It was founded the same year that the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford.

Since then, the NDRWSA has helped many rural areas across the state with funding and construction of water systems, giving clean and affordable drinking water to many North Dakotans living in rural communities across our state.

“So, even after 50 years, there’s still people out there, in Rural North Dakota that are hauling water. There’s still people in small communities that drink sub-standard water,” said Eric Volk, Executive Director of NDRWSA.

Volk says the association still has more important work to do in the coming years to ensure other rural communities are not forgotten. “There’s partnerships out there, between the State of North Dakota, the Federal Government, and the local entities. I think we all can accomplish our goal,” of expanding access to more rural communities he said.

Volk adds that a little over 300,000 people in North Dakota receive their drinking water from rural water systems, that serve 268 towns across the state.