Groundwater recharge requirement wins legislative committee’s approval

By: Joshua Haiar

Outlets: South Dakota Searchlight

Published: January 29, 2026

Words: 374

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 2 days ago

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PIERRE — A committee of South Dakota lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that would tighten state limits on groundwater withdrawals by eliminating an exception for some deep aquifers used by public water systems.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, would require that annual withdrawals from any groundwater source could not exceed the source’s estimated recharge rate. It would do so by striking language in state law that allows an exception when pumping …

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