SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (KCAU) — Officials in Sioux Center and Hull are ushering in a new era of clean accessible water.

After more than 12,000 days since the inception of the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Sioux Center and Hull now have greater access to clean drinking water.

“Big day to celebrate the arrival, it’s actually, water has been flowing since April 4 so it’s just a great day to celebrate the completion of Lewis and Clark to our community,” Sioux Center Mayor David Krahling said.

“It’s a great day of celebration because water is essential to life, you know,” Hull Mayor Arlan Moss said.

Two more Siouxland communities are now receiving additional clean water through the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System. The work to connect 20 Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota communities all started on January 29, 1990.

“We’ve been on water restrictions the past couple of summers and it’s just a sense of security that we have an adequate supply of high-quality water at a reasonable cost,” said Krahling.

“This enhances our supply and it, Rock Valley rural water is good quality, but this is even better,” said Moss.

Sioux Center and Hull are the 16th and 17th communities to hook up to the water respectively. This was achieved in early April 2023.

“When Lewis and Clark is all said and done, it will be about $750 million to get all the members connected. The water comes from a series of wells adjacent to the Missouri River by Vermillion. It’s treated by Vermillion and 337 miles of pipeline to get it to all 20 members,” said Executive Director of the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System Troy Larson.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate an achievement close to his heart.

“Personally this is so important for Hull and Sioux Center, being a Hull kid growing up, seeing the project, being the city administrator, being on this executive board for Lewis and Clark over time to finally see it come to fruition is just incredible. What it does is create economic sustainability, economic development for our communities long term. Water is such a precious commodity that we all need, and now we have it long-term,” said Feenstra.

There are now just three more communities left to connect to the regional water system: Sheldon, Madison, and Sibley. Those communities are all expected to be online by early 2025.