David Fitzgerald and his wife, Lisa Faulkner, left their home near Woodlawn Park in Moorhead for about a week after their basement took on 5 feet of water during the flood of 2009.
They built a backyard dike they felt would protect them, but water came unexpectedly from the street side to their neighborhood just south of Main Avenue that is semi-surrounded by water during floods.
On Wednesday, volunteers helped build Fitzgerald a dike he hopes will do the trick this year.
Fitzgerald knew what he might be getting into when he bought a home so close to the Red River in 2008, but he's optimistic the flood threat will someday be put to rest.
"I'm hoping the Fargo-Moorhead area will get their act together and get some kind of long-term protection," Fitzgerald said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Many homes in the neighborhood are sitting empty after owners sold them to the city in the wake of last year's flood.
Of the few neighbors who remain, some have decided they won't fight to save their house this spring.
"When you get into a situation where someone doesn't want to have their home protected, it's their right," said Mark Altenburg, a City Council member who was helping sandbag in the neighborhood Wednesday.
"We want to do everything we can to protect people's property," Altenburg said, but added, "We can't do it against their will. They have to give us permission to get on their property."
Altenburg said the flood fight seems to be going well this year.
One thing the city did to improve flood readiness was to organize Moorhead into eight zones, with city staff assigned to each zone with the intention of improving communication and resource sharing.
The response from residents has been positive, Altenburg said.
"It really has worked to have folks from engineering, parks, police and fire here on the ground. Consistent faces they (residents) can go to talk to," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
