Red River flood control efforts cause frustration for some
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 04/08/2010 9:02 AM
E-mail article | Print version
ADA, Minn. — Diane Ista is frustrated with Red River Valley flood control efforts.
Don't misunderstand the Wild Rice Watershed District co-chair. She's glad that support is gaining for a Fargo, N.D., side Red River diversion over a proposed Minnesota option. The North Dakota diversion project will include more rural land and offer greater protection.
But Ista says a broader flood control approach would be more effective. It's an effort the watershed it taking on with several of its projects. Their intent is to store water in the watersheds upper elevations and slowly release it as the river can handle it.
The Wild Rice is among the Red River's tributaries, which also back up and flood in the spring as a swollen Red River travels north to Canada. The Wild Rice Watershed also has a big drop in elevation, from 1,500 feet at its height to 931 feet. Storing water at the top and slowly releasing it when the Red can handle it just makes sense, she said.
It isn't just the watershed that sees retention as part of the answer to flood reduction. The Concerned Citizens of the Wild Rice Watershed District is also pushing for storage on the Wild Rice.
The Upper Becker Enhancement Project is one effort that can achieve that goal. It offers gated storage on 8,000 acres. The district will receive a 75 percent cost share from the state for the project, she said.
Such projects take time to accomplish, she said. Agencies need to approve it and the district needs to find funding to pay for it. It's a challenge in a large watershed district that includes portions of six counties including Mahnomen, which is among the state's poorest.
To keep floodwaters at bay, communities and farmsites have put up ring dikes. The dikes are effective, Ista said, but those using them are often isolated for several weeks until floodwaters recede. Last year, the community of Hendrum was within its dike for six weeks. It creates a whole new infrastructure challenge. There was enough water for drinking and cooking but not for showers, she said. And airboats couldn't be used because of ice chunks.
Perley is another community that lives within its dike during flood events. Schools close, she said. The town's economy is affected.
"We had one state senator ask us why people don't just move to Brainerd," she said. "This is some of the richest farmland. We need our elevators. We need our supplies. What happens to our communities?"
When the district learned about a Fargo-Moorhead diversion project, the organization joined the Red River Downstream Impact Work Group. they told a metro flood study work group they wanted a seat at the table during the diversion discussions. They remind the group they can't tolerate any down stream impact from a diversion.
"I feel Fargo-Moorhead has a right to protect themselves, but I am also saying that it should be a zero impact downstream."
During a Washington, D.C. summit on the 2009 flood, North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan said the groups need to act now for flood control measures. The Red River Basin, which includes Minnesota, North Dakota,South Dakota and Manitoba, Canada, has been working on a 20 percent reduction of water from all tributaries to the Red River.
The projects are there to accomplish the goals, she said. Gaining approval for them and funding are the biggest challenges.
And even when one district receives funding, it's bittersweet because it means another district can't move forward with their efforts.
As districts throughout the Red River Valley try to finance projects, they are also dealing with repeated flood events. The area has experienced flooding in 1997, 2000, 2007 and 2009, she said.
"They say we are in a wet cycle," Ista said. "This is just horrific."