Canistota's upgrading 50 year

CANISTOTA, S.D. — Canistota's drinking water and waste are starting to flow through new pipes.

The city is upgrading its water, sewage and waste lines on the southwest side of town this year. It's 50 year-old cast-iron pipes can’t take the winters.

“A lot of the pipes have rusted out or have deteriorated over time. When pipes have breaks we have to shut that section of the town down. "Sometimes a break takes 10 hours to fix," said Canistota Mayor Justin Engbarth. “Every wintertime it seems like we get a few more breaks.”

This year's construction — slated to be finished in November — is the third part of a six step plan to upgrade the city's infrastructure that has unfolded over the past decade. Each step fixes an area of town, as the city works upstream from the sewer lagoon.

In about 15 years, the final part will see the city go above ground and install a new, taller water tower. The increased pressure flowing from the higher height will require the stronger pipes built beforehand.

“In Canistota our water tower is extremely old, and it’s kind of at the end of its life. But in order to replace our water tower in the future we need to replace all of our old cast iron water lines.”

All told, this year's construction will cost $4.8 million once installation in the six-block area is finished. In large part, project dollars come from a couple of federal awards worth over two-thirds of a million dollars each. They are being assisted by a water surcharge for residents.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has contributed $667,000 loan dollars toward the project through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The pool of money provides communities with low-interest loans to improve their water infrastructure. The "revolving" part of the name refers to the way the money is replenished, as towns pay their loans back into the fund for future projects.

This April, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also awarded the town a $770,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The program helps communities improve infrastructure needs that are affecting the "health, safety or welfare" of the public — like wintertime line breaks.

In South Dakota, CDBG applications are doled out by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. $6.5 million was awarded across 10 cities and counties across South Dakota in 2022.

It’s the third time Canistota has received a CDBG grant for its six-part plan; it was awarded $770,000 in 2021, and $515,000 in 2014.

Without the awards, Engbarth says the project would never have been possible.

“For small communities, it's definitely a must to get grant money,” Engbarth said. “Otherwise, it's just unfeasible. So to split $4.8 million on one phase, this project — for a town like ours with 700 people — is not possible without grant money.”

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