BISMARCK - The state Water Commission will share about half the cost of the Maple River Dam construction near Enderlin, N.D., it decided Friday - $14.68 million.
The dam's total cost is $29.5 million and it is about half built, said Tom Fischer, chairman of the Cass County Joint Water Resources District board, which has pushed for the project for more than 10 years.
The dam, designed to be dry most of the time, is supposed to alleviate downstream flooding in the Red River Valley around Fargo when rain or snowmelt overwhelm the local rivers and water starts to move in sheets across the flat valley landscape.
The commission, of which Gov. John Hoeven is chairman, had some discussion on whether to help pay for legal costs incurred while the dam was being planned before voting to approve the amount.
Fischer said legal bills shouldn't be blamed on the water districts.
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"The legal fees were created by things we had no control over," he said after the vote. "It was the (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers."
DAM JUMP
Opponents of the dam petitioned the corps to get involved for several years and the project was held up by a court battle over whether the site was an ancient Indian burial ground.
Some 2 million cubic yards of dirt have been moved at the project site 10 miles northeast of Enderlin since a September 2004 groundbreaking ceremony, Fischer said Friday. Another 750,000 cubic yards of earthmoving remains.
"It's a huge project," he said.
Work is now suspended for the winter, he said.
A recent aerial photo of the site shows the embankment under construction, the carved-out earthen emergency spillway and site of the concrete spillway and principal spillway.
Its principal spillway is a 66-inch pipe and 120-foot wide concrete chute. During times of heavy run-off, Fischer said, "Whatever doesn't fit through the pipe backs up behind the dam."
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The dam will be operational next fall, with final completion of construction in the summer of 2007.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Janell Cole at (701) 224-0830
