Diversion likely focus of meeting

• Checking the Red River

Dan Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey Grand Forks Field Office surveys the water flow of the Red River on Wednesday morning at the toll bridge between Fargo’s 12th Avenue North and Moorhead’s 15th Avenue North. The river crested shortly before his survey. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

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• Red River Basin Commission schedules public forums
• Red River crests at 23.59 feet in F-M

Local leaders meet today to start whittling down flood protection options for the Fargo-Moorhead area.

The co-chairmen of the Metro Flood Study Work Group expect the group to focus on a diversion as the consensus flood control solution.

But the group likely won’t get to see an updated analysis of two North Dakota diversion plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fargo City Commissioner Tim Mahoney and Clay County Commissioner Kevin Campbell said they were told the corps is not yet finished with its analyses.

A corps spokeswoman confirmed late Wednesday that the information would likely not be available.

The two diversions west of the Red River are close to meeting the cost-benefit threshold for federal funding. With early support strong for a North Dakota diversion, having one or both of the plans meeting the federal minimums would play a key role in deliberations.

Campbell said the corps will have information on downstream impacts for the flood control options presented in October.

Mahoney and Campbell say the group will tackle several issues, including:

• Deciding the size of the diversion channel they believe matches the area’s needs. They may ask the corps to analyze 30,000-cubic-feet-per-second or 40,000-cubic-feet-per-second diversions.

• Which government will control and maintain the diversion.

• Begin discussing how the local costs will be distributed.

Meetings will be weekly, unless information can be obtained from the corps quicker, Mahoney said.

“We’ll move as fast as they can move,” Mahoney said.

The aim is to have a plan ready for Fargo, Moorhead, and Cass and Clay county officials to vote on and approve by Dec. 1, when the corps wants the locally preferred option in hand.

“We’re whittling on a stick, and we’ll whittle it down to a fine point,” Mahoney said. “I think we’ll come up with a solution.”

Dilworth Mayor Keith Coalwell and West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern said their cities have been invited to the meeting.

Mattern said there are too many questions to be answered before financing can be discussed.

“It’s way too early to discuss who’s paying for what,” Mattern said. “It worries me a bit that people are getting so far ahead of the game. There isn’t even federal funding available yet.”

Five Minnesota diversion projects and one levee system have met the federal cost-benefit ratio, corps officials said.

The levee system would cost $902 million, while the diversion would cost $962 million to $1.26 billion, the corps estimates.

The two North Dakota diversions close to the cost-benefit funding threshold would cost $1.34 billion (tying in to the Sheyenne Diversion) and $1.36 billion, the corps estimates.

The Dilworth City Council has come out against a Minnesota diversion channel because it would hinder Dilworth development.

The Cass County Commission and the Cass County Joint Water Resource District board have voted to support a North Dakota flood diversion.

The West Fargo City Commission was more specific, voting to back a diversion that slides about 1.5 miles west of the Sheyenne Diversion.

Yet to weigh in are the Fargo City Commission and the Moorhead City Council.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583

Tags: metro flood study work group, news, flooddiversion, flood