Funding
The other main issue with the NAWS project is funding; Federal, State, and local dollars have been pledged to the project, but in summer 2003, Federal funds for the project were almost cut, jeopardizing construction.
In 1998, voters in Minot decided to levy a 1% sales tax to go towards the construction of NAWS, but it is not enough to complete the program without federal funding. Further compounding the situation was an illegal diversion of funds from the NAWS tax fund into the city's MAGIC Fund. After a lawsuit was filed against the city, it was ordered to return the misappropriated funds to the NAWS fund, and did so by adding a special assessment on city water bills to raise the funds.
Read more about this topic: Northwest Area Water Supply