Flooding concerns along Highway 10 prompt outlet talk

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. – With all the recent talk about the possibility of another spring flood in Fargo-Moorhead, it might be possible to overlook Becker County facing a potentially serious flooding problem all its own.

Specifically, Boyer Lake near Lake Park has the potential to overflow its banks and put a portion of Highway 10 under water.

The highway was raised a few years ago because of the rising waters of Boyer Lake.

“It (Boyer Lake) only has to come up inches from where it was last year, and Highway 10 is going to be affected,” said Bruce Albright, administrator of the Buffalo Red River Watershed District.

To avoid the possibility that Highway 10 might be “inundated by water,” the BRRWD is working with area legislators to obtain 50 percent state funding on a $270,000 project.

The project would provide outlets for Boyer and LaBelle lakes, draining excess water into Becker County Ditch 9 before flowing into the Buffalo River.

A new outlet would help to mitigate high water and erosion problems on both lakes as well as on adjacent roads, including Highway 10.

Another possibility of holding back high water would be raising Highway 10’s roadbed, along Boyer Lake’s north shore, at a cost of more than $1 million, Albright said.

However, the flood control project would cost roughly a third of that amount and would provide a more permanent solution to the drainage problem, he said.

When he met with Gov. Tim Pawlenty just before Christmas to discuss the possibility of funding for the project, Pawlenty initially told him, “It’s a road problem,” Albright said.

But after going over the proposed project with Pawlenty – and how it might be done for a third of the cost of raising the highway – Albright said the governor indicated that he understood what they were trying to do. But it may prove difficult to secure state money considering Minnesota’s current budget crunch.

But Albright is optimistic that if the BRRWD can have the project “ready to go” by the time the current legislative session ends in May, they might stand a better chance of “rising to the top” of the funding list.

To get to that point, the watershed district must “complete the legal process” of developing an outlet, including determining benefits to surrounding landowners, Albright said.

Though the BRRWD is currently working on “four or five” other flood control projects within the watershed, he noted, “We’ve moved Boyer/LaBelle up to the top of the list.”

Vicki Gerdes is a reporter for the Detroit Lakes Tribune, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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