PROJECTS

River Rain LLC is a private water utility that will supply untreated water from the Missouri River to residential subdivisions for lawn/tree irrigation in North Bismarck. The pipeline has the required water rights and easements and is defined as a “shallow bury” line that will be filled each spring and drained each fall. Customers will pay an initial sign-up or membership fee, as well as a monthly fee, depending on irrigated acreage. River Rain LLC will provide administration (billing, etc.), and system maintenance (service, startup, shutdown).

PROJECT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
The system will be designed and have construction management provided by Element Solutions (owners Brandon Ames and Darrell Casteel) in cooperation with Agri-Industries (owner Mike Ames), www.agrindustries.com. Brandon and Darrell have experience in design and management of similar irrigation systems in North Dakota, Montana and Utah, and are the primary owners of River Rain LLC.
Agri-Industries has designed, built and managed private and public waterline projects in western North Dakota and eastern Montana for over 20 years. Agri-Industries has the equipment to install up to a mile of pipeline/day, as well as the boring machines to minimize yard and road disturbance.

HOW MUCH WATER IS NEEDED?
A general rule of thumb is that lawns need 1” of water per week from mid-April - June, 1 1/2” per week for July-August, and 1” per week from September to mid-October. 1 inch of water on 1 acre for one week is 27,132 gallons (325,850 gal/ac-foot ÷ 12”) or over 100,000 gallons per month (27,132 x 4). Even after deducting for rainfall, Agri-Industries experience in Williston, North Dakota, shows rural homeowners use an average of 100,000 gallons per month per irrigated acre.

DO YOU NEED AN IRRIGATION WATER SUPPLY?
That depends on how you want to enjoy or increase the value of your property. As the comparison photos in the Case Studies suggest, the value of the River Rain LLC system is in the property value as well as the daily enjoyment of a beautiful yard. As the table below indicates, you will pay $150 for 35,000 gallons of water from South Central Regional District as compared to River Rains offer of $150 for 100,000 gallons (three times the volume for the same price!!) River Rain is not in competition with SCRD (just the opposite!), because as Doug Neibauer, Executive Director/manager of SCRD states, “Our system is not designed for irrigation, but rather for consumption/domestic use.” SCRD is in favor of lower cost irrigation water for its members. The River Rain system is patterned after rural water systems with a $2,000 hookup fee. We add $750 for later signups as compared to SCRD adding either $750 or $1,500, depending on which side of the street your lot is from their water line. River rain is not an alternative to SRCD, but rather an option to irrigate your property.

IS A WELL AN OPTION?
Of course. However, well drillers estimate a cost of $6-8,000 (includes pump), for a 250-foot deep well to deliver 25-30 gpm. The real problem is well water is very salty (not fit for plants or animals), whereas river water is far superior for your yard. While shallow wells are possible along the river, they have a high iron
content which will can make your brick patio or birch trees look like “brownstones” or “ironwood.” Having a well in the middle of your lawn requires landscaping and electricity, and well as reducing the play area for your children; as opposed to a flush-mounted valve box on your property line.

APPEARANCE
Each member will have a valve box at their property line and will be responsible for distributing the water from their valve box via hoses or sprinklers. Membership entitles the landowner to the water, but usage is not required. Lot owners, after sign-up, can begin landscaping even though they may not build for a year or more. There is no meter except at the pump site, as the irrigation permit requires River Rain LLC to annually report water usage.

Homeowners often landscape around their valve and filter assembly (not included), but it’s not necessary. On the other hand, it might be a nice place to display your grandfather’s horse-drawn plow or flowers in the Red Flyer wagon you grew up with.

Interested? Click here to see the contract.