Public invited to two events this month at Pierre’s Drinking Water Treatment Facility

JUNE 8, 2023:

The City of Pierre is hosting two separate public events this month at its new Drinking Water Treatment Facility.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Tuesday (June 13, 2023) at 1pm at the plant (821 W. Dakota Avenue). Following that, will be a facility tour.

On June 21, the public will have another opportunity to tour the facility. Tours will start at 5pm and run every 30 minutes until 7pm.

In December 2022, the facility started distributing potable water, and by mid-January 2023 the transition from ground water to treated Missouri River surface water was complete.

On average, the plant produced about 2.72 million gallons of water a day. However, the plant has additional capacity to serve Pierre well into the future. Maximum production capacity is 8.8 million gallons a day.

"This project was voted in by the public, and I want people to have a chance to see what their utility rates are paying for," said Pierre Mayor Steve Harding. "I don't think anyone will be disappointed."

Following a community survey that showed Pierre citizens were interested in improved drinking water, the City of Pierre commissioned a study to provide options for a new water treatment process. The study recommended the City build a water treatment facility near the Missouri River highway bridge. In June 2018, the City Commission put the project to a public vote; it was approved by 73% of voters. In July 2020, the Commission approved the design for the $37.5 million project.

Courtesy photo.

DECEMBER 7, 2022:

The City of Pierre started pumping water from its new Water Treatment Plant yesterday (Dec. 6, 2022), but distribution to the entire town will take a few weeks to complete.

City Project Manager Gidget Palmer says it's not possible to shut off well water and turn on treated water using the same pipes, so the two sources will comingle in the distribution system for a bit.

She says people will notice a gradual change in their water over the next two to three weeks as the old water makes its way out of the system.

Palmer says once the transition is complete and the well water has been cleared from the system, people will start to notice softer water with less mineral content, rust remover shouldn't be needed and people can likely reduce the amount of water softener salt they use.

The beginning of distribution from the water treatment plant marks the switch from the Pierre's previous well water source to the new treatment process using Missouri River surface water. The new plant is located near the Missouri River bridge in the southwest part of Pierre.

DECEMBER 6, 2022:

The City of Pierre started pumping water from its new Water Treatment Plant today (Dec. 6, 2022), but distribution to the entire town will take a few weeks to complete.

City Project Manager Gidget Palmer says it's not possible to shut off well water and turn on treated water using the same pipes, so the two sources will comingle in the distribution system for a bit. She says people will notice a gradual change in their water over the next two to three weeks as the old water makes its way out of the system.

Palmer says to help expedite the transition, Pierre is flushing water from hydrants, but no action is required from the general population. She says once the transition is complete and the well water has been cleared from the system, people will start to notice softer water with less mineral content, rust remover shouldn't be needed and people can likely reduce the amount of water softener salt they use.

Courtesy photo.

JANUARY 13, 2022:

So far, the building of Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant hasn't been slowed down because of product shortages or shipping problems.

Darin Pfingsten is president and owner of PKG Contracting, Inc., the Construction Manager at Risk for the project.

From intake at the Missouri River to the pumps that will push the treated water out to our faucets, Pfingsten says there's about three-quarters of a mile of pipe.

Construction of Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant started in August 2020. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2022.

In June 2018, 70% of the Pierre residents who voted approved spending more than $37-million to replace Pierre's current well system with a drinking water treatment facility. Since then, residential and commercial water fees have been incrementally increased to help pay for the new facility.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. Pictured: Darin Pfingsten, owner of PKG Contracting; Delvin DeBoer, AE2S project engineer; DRG Media Group News and Farm Director Jody Heemstra — all taking a moment outside to enjoy the 50 degree weather.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. Darin Pfingsten is owner of PKG Contracting, the company building the plant. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. DRG Media Group News and Farm Director Jody Heemstra is nearly 1700 gallons tall. (hee hee hee)Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. Delvin DeBoer with AE2S is the project engineer. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

January 12, 2022, tour of new drinking water treatment plant for Pierre. It's scheduled to come online in October 2022.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

MARCH 25, 2021:

A big step toward completion of Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant started yesterday evening (Wed. March 23, 2021) and continued through the early morning hours today (Thurs.) as a marine team put the intake pipe into place in the Missouri River.

Darin Pfingsten is president and owner of PKG Contracting, Inc., the Construction Manager at Risk for the project.

Water from the river will flow through an underwater screen before heading toward the treatment operations.

The entire process was estimated to take between 12 and 18 hours to complete.

Pierre mayor Steve Harding says the project is history in the making.

In June 2018, 70% of those voting approved spending more than $37-million to replace Pierre's current well system with a drinking water treatment facility. City Utilities director Brad Palmer says residential and commercial water fees are being incrementally increased to help pay for the new facility.

Construction started in August 2020. Because of good weather, critical construction processes are about 2 months ahead of schedule. The project is scheduled for completion next year.

The waterfront walking path located between the railroad bridge and the car bridge in Pierre is closed this week to allow for construction work. Barricades are in place to mark the closed area. Pedestrians are advised to avoid both the impacted portion of the walking path, as well as the green space located between the river and the Ramkota. The path is expected to reopen to the public Monday (March 29).

A marine crew began moving the massive intake pipeline for Pierre's new drinking water treatment facility into place in the Missouri River around 6pm Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

The ends of the pipe were capped so the entire length of pipe could be filled with air, making the entire section buoyant.

After hours of pushing and pulling, the intake pipe was moved into position.

Divers prepared to enter the 35 degree (Fahrenheit) water and begin the process of slowly sinking the entire pipe into place.

Photos from the March 17, 2021, media tour of the water treatment plant construction.

Building Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant on the south side of Highway 34 in the Steamboat Park area.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Darin Pfingsten is president and owner of PKG Contracting, Inc., the Construction Manager at Risk for Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant project.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Building the intake facility for Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant on the north side of Highway 34 near the Ramkota.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Pipe that is sunk into the Missouri River to serve as the intake for Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant on the north side of Highway 34 near the Ramkota.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Pfingsten, Pierre mayor Steve Harding, Pierre city project manager Gidget Palmer, Utilities director Brad Palmer.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Underwater screen attached to the pipe that is sunk into the Missouri River to serve as the intake for Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant on the north side of Highway 34 near the Ramkota.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

The posts mark the path where the pipe would be sunk into the Missouri River to serve as the intake for Pierre's new drinking water treatment plant on the north side of Highway 34 near the Ramkota.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Pfingsten and Harding.Photo credit DRG Media Group.

Left to right: DT Meyer, Patrick Callahan, Jody Heemstra, Gidget Palmer, Brad Palmer, Darin Pfingsten and mayor Steve Harding. Not pictured Brooke Bohnenkamp and Zach Nelson.Photo credit Brooke Bohnenkamp for DRG Media Group.