Excerpts from the report: The Bad River is the smallest of five major river basins in western South Dakota that drain into the Missouri River. It originates in the Big (White River) Badlands near Wall, South Dakota, and flows to the east approximately 100 miles where it discharges into Lake Sharpe near the towns of Fort Pierre and Pierre. The basin drains approximately 3,209 square miles of Stanley, Jones, Lyman, Haakon, Jackson, and Pennington Counties. The purpose of the Lower Bad River-River Basin Study was to identify cost-effective alternatives for the development of water and related land resources that will: (1) identify and quantify areas needing treatment for sediment reduction; (2) enhance the water quality and aesthetics of Lake Sharpe through the reduction of sediment; (3) increase economic and environmental stability through improved conservation application, and (4) improve economic development of the area by enhancing wildlife and fisheries habitat, improving recreational use and increasing productivity of depleted agricultural lands.
