Garrison Diversion Conservancy District (Garrison Diversion) Board of Directors has a new Chairman. After a four-year term, Ward County Director Alan Walter passed the gavel to Jay Anderson of Ransom County in January. Anderson is a long-time Director who has been heavily involved in the water industry in North Dakota since 1994.  

Anderson recognizes a lot of positive things have come from developing water systems across the state. “What we do at Garrison Diversion is important and I’m glad to work with other very knowledgeable Board members with diverse backgrounds who are willing to be involved and have purpose being involved with this Board,” says Anderson.

He served on the Ransom-Sargent Rural Water Board from 1994 to 2006. In 1994, he helped start the Central area of the Southeast Water Users District. He currently serves as a Director on the Southeast Water Users Board and is a past President. He was elected to the Garrison Diversion Board in 2013 and serves on the Red River Valley Committee.

“I think the Red River Valley Water Supply Project is one of the most vital and important water projects the state has seen and will have a bigger impact than we can even estimate. I think there is great potential here with the Missouri River,” he says.

Counties, water systems, and cities in southeast North Dakota will benefit from the RRVWSP as the drought mitigation project will meet the area’s emergency, supplemental, and industrial water supply needs. In fact, the following entities in Anderson’s neck of the woods have signed memorandums of commitment (MOCs) to join the RRVWSP: Southeast Water Users District, Sargent County, Dickey County, and Lisbon, while Richland County’s MOC is pending.

“We are happy to welcome Jay as the new Chair,” says Duane DeKrey, Garrison Diversion General Manager. “And we thank Alan for the past four years as the head of the Board.”