FARGO - As floodwaters continue to recede, Fargo is looking at more ways to make the next battle easier.
The city has plans to spend more than $22.5 million on more permanent solutions by the end of this year, according to documents provided by the engineering office.
More than half of those projects are already in place through pre-flood buyouts and emergency measures that will be made permanent.
Fargo spent about $10.3 million acquiring and demolishing homes before this year's crest. Another almost $2.6 million went to building emergency clay levees in nine locations.
Staff will ask the City Commission next week to approve another $4.3 million to convert those levees to permanent structures, City Engineer Mark Bittner said.
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The commission is also expected to weigh in on an additional $5.4 million for levee improvements along 64th Avenue South, North Oaks, Rose Creek, River Drive and the Fargo Country Club.
The city expects to spend almost $12.9 million of the flood sales tax on this year's projects and about $9.4 million in North Dakota State Water Commission funds.
Bittner wants to get Fargo protected to a level in which sandbags are no longer needed, but he said Monday that's still a couple of years away.
Engineers have identified more than $105 million in needed future projects, documents show.
More buyouts are possible this year as the city determines whether it's more economical to acquire or build protection for homes, Bittner said.
About 30 homeowners have expressed interest in receiving buyouts.
This year's projects bring Fargo's total price tag for permanent or semi-permanent projects since the historic crest in 2009 to more than $62 million, $24 million of which came from the state water commission, documents show.
That total includes the $5.4 million on a Red River diversion study.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Heidi Shaffer at (701) 241-5511
