President Donald Trump signed a bill Friday to continue federal support of construction of water infrastructure for communities in northeastern Montana.
Sep 29, 2026
Trump signs bill to continue water pipeline projects in northeastern Montana
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who helped carry the bill through the Senate, said that projects led by the Fort Peck Dry Prairie Rural Water System were about 95% complete, with the water system federally authorized in 2000. The recently-signed bill will allow the water system to get the rest of the projects across the finish line, Daines said.
“This gives us the authorization and the funding to finish it to 100%,” Daines told the Billings Gazette. “And the bottom line is, it’s access to clean water for drinking, cooking, as well as ag purposes. It's a basic necessity.”
Projects in the area have already connected Plentywood, Poplar, Scobey and nine other small towns to fresh water since 2000. Much of the area the projects have covered includes areas in the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
The new water system taps into treated Missouri River water.
The water system is one of four in the state, according to a Daines press release. Fort Peck Dry Prairie Rural Water System Director Joni Sherman told the Gazette that the extended authority to continue projects will be used to finish water projects in the Opheim area, in addition to around 80 cabins bordering Fort Peck Lake. Currently, the cabins have no access to drinking water. They use the nearby lake water for cooking and washing, and travel miles elsewhere for drinking water. Both of those pipeline projects are expected to conclude in early 2028.
The pipeline projects have been funded by 76% federal funds, 12% state grant funds and 12% local funds, Sherman said.
The bill extends federal authority and funding for the projects to December 2028.
