Lewis & Clark System Begins Delivering Water to Worthington, Minnesota

TEA, S.D. (AP) — The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System has started delivering water to Worthington in southwestern Minnesota.

The system began delivering water to Worthington on Monday. The city is the 15th connected member of the system that serves South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

Lewis & Clark Regional Water System is a wholesale provider of water to 20 member cities and rural water systems in a 5,000 square miles area. The source of water is a series of wells that tap into an aquifer adjacent to the Missouri River.

Worthington has a reserved capacity of 1.9 million gallons a day from Lewis & Clark that will be blended with the city's existing water sources.

Scott Hain is general manager of Worthington Public Utilities and also serves on Lewis & Clark's board of directors. Hain says the effort to get water from Lewis & Clark took longer than expected, but the additional source of water will benefit the city.

After years of construction, Lewis & Clark began delivering water in 2012. Five more members have yet to be connected to the system.

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