Rapid City SD- The zebra mussels in Pactola Reservoir are striped and about the size of a fingernail, and they’ve been there since at least the summer of 2022. On Tuesday, Rapid City’s Public Works Committee will consider a $147,000 engineering contract to keep them out of the city’s water treatment plants.
It’s one of 10 items on a short agenda. Others include final bills on four construction projects (one coming in nearly half a million dollars under), a snow-plowing swap with Pennington County, a $150,000 purchase of two lots on Silverleaf Avenue, and a resident’s appeal of a $1,254 utility bill. Here’s what’s on the table, item by item.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Council Chambers, City Hall Administration Center, 300 Sixth Street
Watch: City of Rapid City YouTube channel
Next stop: Items approved here go to City Council on Monday, Oct. 19.
Public comment is taken during the General Public Comment period for anything not on the agenda, and before the votes on the consent calendar and on Item 10.
How To Read This Agenda
Items 1 through 9 are on the consent calendar, which means they are approved together in a single vote unless a committee member pulls one off for separate discussion. Item 10 is the only non-consent item and gets its own discussion and vote.
Several items are change orders. A change order adjusts the price of a construction contract after it has been awarded, up or down. The letter “F” on these change orders typically marks a final change order, the one that closes out the contract’s books.
Consent Items (1–9)
Item 1 — Minutes
Approval of minutes from the Sept. 29, 2026 meeting.
Item 2 — Wonderland Drive comes in under budget (PW101326-01)
Change Order 3F to RCS Construction, Inc. is the final change order for the Wonderland Drive Area Street & Utilities Reconstruction, Phase 1 (Project 2609 / CIP 51070.1). It is a decrease of $482,138.69, money coming back to the city.
The contract was originally $7,212,254.77. After two earlier change orders added about $110,000, this one brings the final cost to $6,840,501.82, about $371,750 under the original bid. Nearly all of the savings came out of the utility lines: about $221,600 from sanitary sewer and $295,200 from water. Streets and drainage actually went up slightly.
The city’s summary credits the drop mainly to rock excavation that was anticipated but never needed. The change order paperwork, prepared by FMG Engineering, notes something else: crews connected none of the 22 new sewer services the bid had planned, because every home they encountered was plumbed to a septic leach field.
The change order also lists a handful of field fixes, including about $4,900 for repairing an unmarked electric line to a well on Ponderosa Court that crews hit during construction (the city says that repair is its responsibility), about $14,000 to raise a retaining wall from 2 to 4 feet at a homeowner’s request, and a $3,315.19 deduction from the contractor after asphalt placed on Pine View Drive and Wonderland Drive in November 2025 failed compaction tests.
One number doesn’t match. The staff recommendation line on the change order itself reads “a decrease of $483,076.55,” while the agenda title, the change order total and the funding table all say $482,138.69. The difference is $937.86.
Item 3 — 2025 ADA improvements (PW101326-02)
Change Order 1F to Dakota Asphalt, LLC for 2025 ADA Improvements at multiple sites (Project 2816 / CIP 50761.24), an increase of $21,655.71.
Item 4 — 2026 chip seal (PW101326-03)
Change Order 2F to Simon Contractors of SD, Inc. for the 2026 Chip Seal street rehab (Project 2867.5 / CIP 50549.26F), an increase of $10,657.34.
Item 5 — Stockade Drive overlay (PW101326-04)
Change Order 2F to Western Construction, Inc. for the Stockade Drive Mill and Overlay (Project 2867.7 / CIP 50549.26H), an increase of $1,981.20.
Taken together, the four change orders net out to a decrease of $447,844.44, almost all of it from Wonderland Drive.
Item 6 — The Zebra Mussel Contract (PW101326-05)
Authorizes the mayor and finance director to sign a professional services agreement with Black and Veatch Corporation for Zebra Mussel Mitigation, Project 2776.1 / CIP 51291, not to exceed $147,000. It is paid from the Water enterprise fund and is budgeted. Staff contact is Brandon Quiett.
What Zebra Mussels are, and Why a Water Utility Cares
Zebra mussels are small, invasive freshwater mollusks native to Eurasia. They reproduce fast, and their larvae are microscopic and drift with the current.
Once settled, adults anchor themselves to hard surfaces with tough threads, including the insides of intake pipes, screens and pumps. In large numbers they can narrow or clog the pipes a treatment plant depends on, and removing them is expensive.
How They Got Here
Zebra mussels were first found in South Dakota at Lewis and Clark Reservoir in 2015 and moved through the state’s eastern lakes and the Missouri River reservoirs.
In mid-July 2022 they were confirmed in Pactola Reservoir, roughly 13 to 15 miles west of Rapid City, after a tip from a member of the public. At the time, Pactola was the farthest west they had been found.
Pactola matters to Rapid City because it is a working reservoir. It provides irrigation water and supplies municipal and industrial users in Rapid City, and South Dakota News Watch reported in early 2023 that the Pactola find raised new concern about future costs to water intakes.
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks has since run watercraft inspection stations at Black Hills boat docks.
This year, Pactola is low. There was no snowpack above the reservoir this spring, and July inflows ran about 30 percent of normal, according to the city, which in August extended watering restrictions through the entire year.
When a reservoir drops, mussels clinging to rocks and docks near the old waterline can end up exposed along the shoreline. On paper, the city’s permanent fix, at Jackson Springs, is still a design contract with a deadline at the end of 2029.
The low water is also a reason not to touch them. South Dakota law bars possessing or transporting aquatic invasive species, and shells that look dead can still carry live mussels or microscopic larvae in damp sediment, which is how they move from one lake to the next.
What Rapid City Has Already Done
This contract is the newest step in a project that has been open for three years.
- September 2023: The Public Works Committee authorized staff to seek proposals for a Water Treatment Process Evaluation (Project 2776 / CIP 51291) covering disinfection methods, zebra mussel mitigation in surface water treatment, and reducing arsenic in the plants’ wastewater. The city said the firm chosen might go on to design whatever the study recommended.
- 2024: Black and Veatch was selected for that evaluation, which had four parts: disinfection, zebra mussels, arsenic and operational support.
- Early 2025: Black and Veatch analyzed options for protecting the city’s water infrastructure from zebra mussels and issued a technical memorandum with its recommendations in April 2025.
- May 2025: The city added Amendment 1 to the evaluation (up to $35,705) to fine-tune chemical dosing at Jackson Springs and extend the life of its membrane filters.
- October 2026: This contract, Project 2776.1, turns the April 2025 recommendations into designs. That is 18 months after the memo and a little over four years after the mussels were confirmed in Pactola.
What the $147,000 Pays For
According to the agenda summary, the contract covers two pieces of work at the city’s surface water treatment plants:
- Jackson Springs Water Treatment Plant: a copper ionization system installed in the Jackson Springs Pumping Station. It would raise copper in the untreated water by 10 to 15 parts per billion. Black and Veatch will design it, run the bidding, and oversee construction, including up to 72 hours of on-site observation in two phases.
- Mountain View Water Treatment Plant: no new system. The April 2025 memo instead recommended that plant staff manually apply copper sulfate from time to time to treat the plant’s intake infrastructure. Black and Veatch will write a standard operating procedure for manually cleaning the plant’s inlet structure and raw water pipeline, and help the city shop for stop logs, the gates used to wall off a channel so crews can work in it.
On copper and tap water: the contract sets the target dose at 10 to 15 parts per billion and notes that is far below the federal Lead and Copper Rule action level of 1,300 parts per billion, which is measured at household taps.
Black and Veatch is also directed to check copper levels in water leaving the plant and review discharge limits for the plant’s waste stream.
Other terms worth knowing: the work is billed hourly up to the $147,000 cap, with Black and Veatch rates running from $125 to $295 an hour.
FMG Engineering, a local firm, appears as a subconsultant.
The completion deadline is Dec. 31, 2029, more than three years out. The contract also lets the city change the scope later, with price adjustments, and says Black and Veatch will notify the city if conditions uncovered during design change the direction of the work.
What a Copper Ion Generation System Is
Copper is toxic to zebra mussels. A copper ion generator passes electricity through copper electrodes to release a small, controlled amount of copper into the untreated water as it enters the plant, which discourages mussels from settling in the pipes.
The treatment process then removes that copper before the finished water goes out to customers. Other utilities, including Austin, Texas, have adopted the approach in part because it avoids trucking in and storing large amounts of copper sulfate.
What this Contract Does Not Pay For
This is an engineering contract. It pays Black and Veatch to design the Jackson Springs system, run the bidding and oversee construction.
The cost of actually building and installing the system is not part of this $147,000 and would come back to the committee and Council later as a construction bid.
Why the Two Plants are Treated Differently
Jackson Springs gets a permanent system. Mountain View gets a manual cleaning routine. The contract does not say why. One piece of possible context: in May 2023, the city said the Mountain View plant had reached the end of its life, with obsolete components and unavailable replacement parts, and sought a separate evaluation of whether to rebuild it in place, move it to the east side of town, or split it into two smaller plants. Whether that decision has been made, and whether it explains the lighter treatment at Mountain View, is not stated in this agenda item.
Item 7 — Snow Route Swap with the County (PW101326-06)
Authorizes a memorandum of understanding between the city and Pennington County to trade snow routes, so each government plows short stretches of the other’s roads where that is more practical. No money changes hands.
The swap is close to even. The city would take on about 4.66 miles, including North Deadwood Avenue and Haines Avenue from city limits to the Meade County line, West Nike Road, Neva Way, and stretches of La Crosse Street and San Francisco Street.
The county would take on about 4.58 miles, including Long View Road north of the airport, Old Folsom Road, Reservoir Road and Universal Drive.
The agreement runs three years, is reviewed annually, and either side can exit with 30 days’ notice. Each side agrees to indemnify the other for claims arising from the arrangement.
Item 8 — Lacrosse Street Sewer (PW101326-07)
Authorizes staff to seek proposals from engineering firms to design the Lacrosse Street Sanitary Sewer Reconstruction (Project 2925 / CIP 51347). This is the first step; a design contract would come back to the committee later.
Item 9 — $150,000 Land Purchase for Silverleaf Avenue (PW101326-08)
Authorizes a real property purchase agreement between the city and Kerry Conner for $150,000 for the Silverleaf Avenue Reconstruction, 4th Street to South Street (Project 2796 / CIP 50837).
This project has been in design for more than a year. The city hired Avid4 Engineering in July 2025 for preliminary design (up to $170,292.50), then added final design and bidding in May 2026 (Amendment 1, $176,970).
The work covers about 1,600 feet of residential street along Silverleaf Avenue and 4th Street, including water, sewer, storm sewer and sidewalk. A major goal, per city documents, is moving Silverleaf onto a higher water pressure zone.
When the city first sought engineers in February 2025, staff called the project technically challenging because of the area’s geography and multiple non-conforming service lines.
What the $150,000 buys: two vacant lots, not an easement.
According to the purchase agreement, the city is buying the whole of both parcels in Block 2 of the Flormann Addition, about 0.41 and 0.37 acres, located just south of the intersection of 4th Street and Silverleaf Avenue in Ward 2.
The city’s reasoning, per the agenda summary: steep slopes on Silverleaf mean the road has to be moved and regraded.
Almost half of the north lot will be taken up by the new road, utilities and retaining walls, and the south lot would be left with difficult access to a public street.
Staff writes that it believes the land will be undevelopable once the work is done. The owner agreed to sell both lots at what the city calls fair market value. No realtor was involved, and the city pays all closing, title and recording costs.
Closing is set for on or before Oct. 19, 2026, the same day Council votes on it. The seller signed the agreement on Oct. 7. The money comes from the city’s CIP Streets fund.
END OF CONSENT CALENDAR
Non-Consent Item (10)
Item 10 — Utility Bill Appeal (PW101326-09)
Kevin Eagle Tail is asking the city to waive $1,254.53 in utility charges billed from July 25, 2025 through Nov. 3, 2025.
The account was for service at a property on Silver Street.
According to the staff summary, Eagle Tail called Utility Billing on July 27, 2025 and asked for service in his name, verifying his identity with his date of birth.
Four days later, a city technician met him at the property for a scheduled water meter replacement.
In November 2025, a third party contacted the city about transferring the account, but the required paperwork was never provided, so the transfer didn’t go through. The city closed the account for nonpayment on Feb. 10, 2026.
The original bill was $1,924.92. It included water, sewer and garbage charges, a $435 frozen-meter charge, $300 in disconnection and tagging fees, and late fees.
In August 2026, after the dispute was raised, Utility Billing removed the December through February charges in recognition of the attempted transfer, bringing the balance down to $1,254.53.
The appeal was filed Aug. 12, 2026 by Frances Dupris on Eagle Tail’s behalf. It argues he never owned, rented or lived at the property and only helped others with repairs there.
It also questions the records behind the account opening, the meter-replacement charge, the fees and the review process, and asks the city to pause collection.
Dupris cited a 2020 ordinance requiring utility accounts to be in the property owner’s name. Staff responds that the requirement was repealed in March 2021, and that anyone who requests service in their own name becomes responsible for it.
Staff recommends the committee deny the request. Staff contact is Mike Theis.
Watch the dates. The online agenda summary says Eagle Tail called on July 25, 2026. The attached staff summary says July 27, 2025, and the agenda title lists the disputed period as starting July 25, 2025. The 2026 date appears to be an error.
The staff summary also notes that the documents the city uses to verify occupancy in some account requests are not routinely kept in customer records, which is part of what the appeal challenges.
What We Don’t Know Yet
- Are the mussels already inside the plants? The city’s summary refers to “infestation” at its surface water plants, and the contract calls for a manual cleaning procedure at Mountain View’s inlet and raw water pipeline. Neither document says whether mussels or larvae have been found in city infrastructure, or when.
- Is the April 2025 technical memo public? It holds the recommendations this contract builds on, and the reasoning for treating the two plants differently.
- Why 18 months from recommendation to design? And why a completion date in late 2029?
- What will construction cost? No estimate for building the Jackson Springs system appears in the agenda.
- What did the original Black and Veatch evaluation contract cost, and what has the city spent with the firm on Project 2776 to date?
- Is Mountain View’s lighter treatment tied to plans to replace that plant?
- Wonderland Drive: which figure is right, $482,138.69 or $483,076.55? And did the city know before bidding that the homes there were on septic?
- Silverleaf Avenue: how was “fair market value” set for the two lots, and was there an appraisal?
- The utility appeal: what documentation did the city have in place for an account opened by phone, and how does it decide which records to keep?
Sourcing
This preview is based on the City of Rapid City’s Oct. 13, 2026 Public Works Committee agenda and agenda item summaries posted Oct. 8, 2026 (PW101326-01 through PW101326-09), and the attachments to those items: the Black and Veatch professional services agreement for Project 2776.1 (PW101326-05), Change Order 3F for Wonderland Drive (PW101326-01), Change Order 1F for 2025 ADA Improvements (PW101326-02), the 2026 Pennington County snow route exchange MOU (PW101326-06), the real property purchase agreement with Kerry Conner (PW101326-08), and the staff summary of appeal (PW101326-09). Background comes from prior Public Works Committee agenda items PW053023-14 (May 2023), PW091223-09 (September 2023), PW022525-02 (February 2025), PW052725-02 (May 2025), PW071525-04 (July 2025) and PW052626-03 (May 2026); South Dakota News Watch (January 2023); the City of Rapid City’s Aug. 20, 2026 release on year-round water restrictions; South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks’ 2020 aquatic invasive species rules proposal (citing SDCL 41-13A-2); SDPB (May 2023); Wyoming Game and Fish Department reporting carried by regional outlets (July 2022); and Austin Water’s published description of its copper ion generator systems.
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