Thomas Daschle: “As a result of the flooding and the extremely high water levels on Lake Oahe this year, its banks are sloughing, causing…”

“As a result of the flooding and the extremely high water levels on Lake Oahe this year, its banks are sloughing, causing the intake pipes for the Gettysburg drinking water system to crack and break, endangering the water supply for the city. The best solution to this problem is to connect the city to the Mid-Dakota Rural Water System. The city is scheduled to be connected to the Mid-Dakota RWS in 1998 or 1999, at a cost of $1.5 million. If this money were made available this year, we could ensure that the residents of Gettysburg will have a safe stable supply of drinking water, despite these flooding-related problems. It is my understanding that the Appropriations Committee has provided $6.5 million in the emergency supplemental spending bill for the Rural Utilities Service to address problems such as this. I very much appreciate the committee's willingness to add these funds to the bill. It is my hope and expectation that some of those funds could be used to help Gettysburg connect to the Mid-Dakota project this year.”