NEWS RELEASE:
CARRINGTON, ND (August 26, 2025) — The Garrison Diversion Conservancy District’s (Garrison Diversion) MR&I Water Supply Assistance Grant Program provides funding assistance to offset the costs of new customer hookups to a rural water system or district within Garrison Diversion’s member counties.
The Water Supply Assistance Grant Program is also in place to aid municipal water systems or districts with extraordinary OM&R projects or emergencies impacting the delivery of water to users, introduce health and safety issues, or bring potential harm to other infrastructure if not repaired.
“Rural water enhances the quality of life for North Dakotans and strengthens our communities,” said MR&I Committee Chair Larry Kassian. “Garrison Diversion is proud to support this vital program and contribute to the well-being of our district.”
In August, the MR&I Committee awarded a program high $65,694 to eight rural water users in the district for residential, livestock and business use.
The following systems had projects receiving funding from the Water Supply Assistance Grant Program:
• Barnes Rural Water District – $5,900 for one customer hookup
• Central Plains Water District – $4,213 for one customer hookup
• East Central Regional Water District – $10,000 for one customer hookup
• South Central Regional Water District – $16,281 for two customer hookups
• Southeast Water Users District – $10,000 for one customer hookup
• Stutsman Rural Water District – $19,300 for two customer hookups
There are two grant application periods each year. The next deadline for new customer hookup applications is May 1, although emergency requests are considered as needed. There continues to be no deadline on extraordinary OM&R projects for municipalities, as these will occur on an as-needed basis.
Eligibility requirements state the applicant must reside within one of Garrison Diversion’s 28 member counties, must be or have a member sponsor that is a political subdivision (municipality or rural water district), and a municipality must serve a population of 5,000 people or less.
Grant guidelines and applications can be found at www.garrisondiversion.org.