"Sen. John Thune is pushing the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a solution to the looming water problem in north-central South Dakota, but in the end, this will come down to the same bottom line as so many other problems - money.

The water-supply intake serving 14,000 people on the Cheyenne Indian Reservation and in nearby communities could become useless by August if the drought continues. Even if it doesn't, the intake in the Cheyenne River is being plagued by a growing silt problem in the river.

The corps could move the intake into deeper water, but silt still will be a problem. It's estimated that the Cheyenne River will be silted in by 2011. And the river can't be dredged, because that would stir up arsenic and heavy metals that came downstream from the Black Hills.

And even if those weren't problems, the aging water system already is at full capacity."

Get the Story:
Editorial: A water crisis looms (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 4/8)

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Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe faces major water crisis (3/31)
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