Statewide groundwater recharge requirement fails in House

By: Joshua Haiar

Outlets: South Dakota Searchlight

Published: February 2, 2026

Words: 253

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 2 days ago

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South Dakota lawmakers on Monday defeated a bill that would have tightened limits on groundwater pumping by eliminating an exception for some deep aquifers.

The vote in the House of Representatives was 16-49.

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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