Delegation Announces $1.2 Million Grant to Rebuild Minnewaukan City Water Infrastructure

WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven and Kent Conrad and Congressman Rick Berg announced today that the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $1.2 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to the City of Minnewaukan to help construct a new water line, distribution system and access road outside the flood zone.

“This grant will help provide the necessary water and sewer infrastructure for the people of Minnewaukan to relocate a school and businesses due to rising waters. This will help to preserve jobs in the area and ensures a stronger future for the city,” the delegation said in a joint statement.

The EDA grant will help the city fund the construction of new water infrastructure for displaced businesses and a school. The City of Minnewakuan has estimated that the project will save 146 jobs.

The delegation worked throughout last year to secure assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect the Minnewaukan Public School and other structures in the community. In May, North Dakota was awarded $4.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds to acquire property for a new school, relocate 18 structures and buy out an additional 96 other buildings in Minnewaukan. The purpose of this project is to substantially reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in the city from rising water levels of Devils Lake, which has risen by about 30 feet and quadrupled in size since 1993.

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