Since the flood of 1997, the primary focus of activities has been oriented towards the repair of flood damage.  However, these activities for the most party have been short-term, comprehensive solutions to reducing flood damages within the District.  This holistic or systems approach to flood reduction, recognized that one solution to the problem of flooding will not be applicable across the watershed district.

The goal of the project is to develop comprehensive and innovative concepts for reducing flood damages within the watershed district.  The concepts developed using the systems approach will be oriented towards achieving flood damage reduction and natural resource goals.  The intent is to undertake a detailed technical review of various flood damage reduction alternatives and to evaluate how various alternatives can be used in combination to achieve a technically defensible concept necessary for a long-term solution to flooding in the Wild Rice and Marsh River basins.

Since the flood, the Wild Rice Watershed District initiated meetings with county, city and township officials to gather input and data as the first step in taking this system approach to flooding.  Norman County agreed to sponsor a challenge grant application to the Board of Water and Soil Resources for a $162,000 cost share grant to assist with planning this imitative.  The county water planning groups in Norman, Clay, Mahnomen and Becker Counties have also been asked to assist with the in-kind funding as planning continues.

EROSION CONTROL PROJECTS

White Earth River/Mahnomen Golf Course Erosion Control

The Wild Rice Watershed District, along with several agencies, has been involved in the development of an erosion control project on the White Earth River.  The project location is east of the City of Mahnomen, in Section 1 of Pembina Township.  Along with riprapping the river bank to provide integrity, the project also incorporated biogeotechnical methods to provide an economical means to solve slope protection and erosion problems, along with providing for improving habit, aesthetics and the overall quality of the environment.

Additional erosion problems were created as a result of the 1997 spring flood an FEMA approved erosion repairs totaling $1,557.  The Watershed District also provided $1,125 from its Works of common Benefits account in 1997.  Sponsors on the project have included the City of Mahnomen, Mahnomen Golf Club, the Mahnomen Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Wild Rice Watershed District.

Waubun Diversion Project

Wetland issues and the development of a wetland mitigation plan were the focus of activity on a proposed Waubun diversion project in 1998 designed to protect the community from flooding.  Funding for the project was approved in February.  Potential wetland mitigation sites were under review and a replacement plan was approved during the spring of 1999.  The project was advertised and awarded to Dennis Drewes, Inc., with a low bid of $29,652.  Project construction was completed in October, with the wetland mitigation issues remaining to be addressed in 2000.

Wild Rice Watershed District Flood Damage Reduction Project Team

Members of the Wild Rice Watershed District Flood Damage Reduction (FDR) project team in the Wild Rice Watershed District received a first hand view of some of the devastating problems caused by flooding in the District with a tour of many problem areas following the June of 2000 summer flood.

Over 100 people attended the project team’s July meeting, mainly farmers from the southwest side of Norman County, who pleaded for assistance from flooding that is endangering their livelihood.

The FDR Project Team in the Wild Rice Watershed District was established in 1999, as a result of the mediation process which began in 1997, to attempt to resolve issues between different water management agencies and groups.  A framework was organized to seek solutions to folding problems, review new flood protection projects, and coordinated efforts early on in the planning process.  The mediation process allow federal, states, and local agencies, as well as the public and private sector, to provide in put regarding flood damage reduction and environmental impacts.

Discussions in 2000 among the project team included how to proceed when the group cannot reach consensus, as well as the importance of having gall the delegates or alternates represented at the monthly meetings to build continuity. 

The FDR Project Team in the Wild Rice Watershed District includes representatives from the DNR, BWSR, MPCA, NRCS, FSA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, sportsman’s groups, the Minnesota Center of Environmental Advocacy, Norman County commissioners, and local citizens. 

t was also decided that the Project team would take an active role in assisting the District complete the Systems Approach initiative in seeking a comprehensive flood reduction solution, with the process to continue in the future.

Red River Watershed Management Board

The Wild Rice Watershed District is a member of the Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB) created by a Joint Power Agreement between the nine member watershed Districts.  The RRWMB was established for the purpose of instituting, coordinating and financing projects to alleviate flooding and to assure the beneficial use of water in the watershed of the Red River of the North and its tributaries.  Funding is by ad valorem tax levies, proved by Chapter 162 of the Minnesota Session Laws.  Managers participate in the annual conference sponsored by the RRWMB each spring.  The annual conference focuses on a basin-wide approach to water management and flood damage reduction.

Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR)

The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), is the state administrative Agency for watershed districts, providing general assistance, reviewing district projects, and approving long range plans.  The BWSR is headed by a 12 member board appointed by the governor.  The BWSR has a staff specialist, including board conservationists, working in regional offices around the State.

Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts (MAWD)

The Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts (MAWD) provides educational opportunities, information and training for watershed districts, managers and staff through yearly tours, meetings and newsletters.  MAWD also represents state wide watershed districts interests at the legislature, before executive branch agencies and other policy makers at the local government level.

The International Coalition (TIC)

The District is an active supporter and is committed to future cooperation with the international Coalition.  The Coalition is a private organization committed to the enhancement and conservation of water and land resources within the Red River Basin.  TIC is heavily involved in conducting educational programs, environmental and resources studies, and publicity programs.

UPPER REACHES EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

After several months of meeting with Norman County, City of Ada, and McDonaldsville Township officials following the 1997 flood, mangers approved a joint action plan to address debris and ice jam removal at bridges over the Wild Rice River and in the Wild Rice channel in the Upper Reaches Project Area. 
 It was decided that three-member team representing the City, Watershed district and County would decide with in was necessary to remove debris and blockages at bridge locations, with the county responsible for mobilizing equipment, and the Watershed District responsible for fiscal management responsibility.
 The participants agreed the team approach was a good means for addressing problems related to ice and debris problems on the river.

LEGAL DRAINAGE SYSTEMS (2001)

The Wild Rice Watershed District is the drainage authority responsible for over 300 miles of legal drainage systems within its boundaries.  The Board of Managers has acquired jurisdiction over these systems either through new ditch construction, existing ditch improvement project, or by Count Board resolution. 

The Watershed District has appointed ditch inspection committees made up of citizens to monitor the drainage system’s conditions and to report ended maintenance to the Board of Managers.  Staff is also involved in inspections on an as needed basis.  Funding for repairs and maintenance is by special assessment pro-rate against benefiting properties.  Maintenance has included removal of channel obstructions, erosion repair, and restoration of grass buffer strips, vegetative management and beaver control.

The Board of Manager reviewed inspection committee reports, and approved cattail spraying and mowing in ditches and project areas where the need was identified by staff and ditch committee members.
 
DALEN COULEE PROJECT

The Dalen Coulee is a natural waterway located in Norman and Clay counties, on the floor of the Red River Valley.  Landowners approached the District looking for help in reducing damage to crops due to frequent flooding along the coulee.  Others including agency representative, took the position that the problem was more related to use practices and farming close to the coulee.  The project goal was to find a solution that would reduce agricultural flood damages along the length of the coulee, while maintaining the ecological integrity of the natural waterway.  The Wild Rice Watershed District took the lead role in implementing the project.  An Inter-Agency Work Team formed in 1996 to address the coulee’s water management and natural resource issues.  The IWT consisted of the WRWD, Norman County and Clay county, Board of Water and Soil Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, natural Resources conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Norman and Clay County SWCDs and landowners.

WILD RICE RIVER FEASBILITY STUDY

Phase 1 of the Wild Rice River Feasibility Study being conducted by the Wild Rice Watershed District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers neared completion by the end of 2004.

The Corps of Engineers and the Wild Rice Watershed District signed as agreement in 2003 to begin a $2.2 million, two year feasibility study to look at flood damage reduction and natural resource restoration on the Wild Rice River.

The Scope of the Wild Rive River Feasibility Study (WRRFS) is based largely on the Wild Rice Watershed District recent watershed management plan update.  That update used the “Systems Approach Planning Process” (SAPP), a collaborative process involving citizen, federal and state agency, special interest group, and other stake holder input to identify and prioritize water and related land resource problems, needs and opportunities with emphasis on flood damage reduction and natural resource restoration and enhancement.  The SAPP made a preliminary assessment of individual and collective corrective measures and employed a screening process to focus on promising candidates. 

Based on the SAPP findings, the WRWD’s Board of Managers determined that the WRRFS should tackle the problems and opportunities in the lower Wild Rice River and should initially focus on the following flood damage reduction and ecosystem restoration opportunities:

• A gated diversion to shunt a portion of the Wild Rice River summer flood waters to the Red River, bypassing flood prone agricultural lands.
• Setback levees along a reach of the Wild Rice River from upstream of Ada for an approximate 27 mile reach to Norman County Highway #4.
• Restoration of a sinuous channel and riparian corridor within the setback levees on the Wild Rice River in a reach channelized in the 1950s.
•  A preliminary estimation of potential sub-watershed flood water storage needs and a preliminary assessment of four possible retention sites, one on the Wild Rice River main stem and three in key sub-watersheds.

The WRRFS will be conduced in two phases:

Phase 1 will collect baseline data (topographic, economic, etc) develop/update
hydraulic and hydraulic models, and conduct a preliminary assessment of measures to determine their potential for Federal partnership.

Early in 2004 the District held a meeting with Ada, where the City Council moved to opt out of the study with the watershed district, with the City deciding to request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers restart the Section 205 study for levee protection.  The decision to leave the City out of the feasibility study reaffirmed the District’s goal to reduce agricultural flood damages along the Lower Wild Rice River.  The Engineer representing the watershed explained the screening process looking at potential diversion routes between the Wild Rice River and Red River.  He explained that five potential routes and two potential outlets were being studied.  By May, it was planned to trim the list of routes to four, and then finally to two.  The final two routes will be included in the feasibility study being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The diversion project being studied would be a gated project which means there would be an operating plan by the COE and it would likely only be available for operation during a summer flood event, assuming there was capacity in the Red River for the flood water.

One question that will be studied is the historical flood data to learn how often a diversion project could have been operated during past floods.  It was noted that part of the COE feasibility study would be to develop an operating plan of when the project could be operated if the diversion remains a consideration.

The flood reduction goal identified in the Systems Approach Planning Process calls for a goal of providing protection against a 10-year storm event.  This is described reducing by 75% the area of flood damaged land along the 80,000 acres in the Lower Wild Rice River area caused by a rainfall similar to that of June, 2000.

Also in 2004 LIDAR mapping of the project area and the hydrology model was updated as party of Phase 1 of the project.  The modeling updated the existing HEC-1 and HEC-RAS model.  The former HEC-1`model consisted of 54 sub-basins including the Wild Rice River and its tributaries, the Sou8th branch Wild Rice River, Felton Ditch and the Marsh River.  The updated HEC_RAS is calibrated to recent spring and summer floods of 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2002.  The existing conditions model was updated using LIDAR and channel cross-section data collected as party of the study.

By fall of 2004 the division routes were narrowed to just two for further study.  Setback levees considered are along a 23 mile reach of the Wild Rice River, from County Road #2 in the east to county Road #4 in the west.  Setback levees under consideration would be approximately 1,500 to 2,500 feet wide and used as a floodway to contain flow for a 10-year fold event.  Land owners along the reach of the river were invited in to look at the proposed alignment and spillway locations during as series of meetings in the fall.

In July, letters were sent to land owners within the six mile off-channel area of the Wild Rice River where frequent flooding made off-channel storage attractive.  The letters asked landowners to respond if they were willing to allow the watershed district to investigate the potential for flood storage on their property.  Little interest from land owners led to a board decision to bale the off-channel concept of the study until the Phase #1 of the Study is completed.

It is planned that Phase #1 of the study will be completed in 2005, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will decide if they are interested in assisting with funding and the development of a possible project to provide eco-restoration and reduce flood damages in the high priority areas of the watershed district, which would begin Phase #2 of the study.

Phase #2 of the study will conduct more rigorous analysis of the flood reduction measures that survive Phase 1, develop detailed designs of those measures, develop an overall strategy to integrate and optimize those measures, determine costs and economic and environmental benefits to assess project justification, and prepare the necessary national Environmental Policy A (CEPA) documentation.

The cost estimate for the 50/50 cost-share WRRFS is $2.8 million (Phase #1 and Phase #2), with the Wild Rice Watershed District proposing to cover the local share through work-in-kind, state appropriations and cash contributions.
 
HEIBERG DAM

The Heiberg Dam is located in Norman County, just west of Highway 32, on the Wild Rice River.  The structure was originally constructed in the 1900s to power a flour mill, and was later converted to a hydroelectric dam, which operated until the 1950s.  In 1965 the dam was destroyed by flooding and was redeveloped as a watershed project in 1975.  The purpose of the project was downstream ice control, recreation, and aquatic enhancement.

During the record summer flood the river broke through the north bank just upstream of the dam, creating a new route for the river to the north.  Following the presidential Disaster declaration in 2002, the Watershed District applied to FEMA for funds to repair the dam.  FEMA required that an environmental assessment be completed on the project.  While this was going on, the district discussed permitting issues with the Army Corps of engineers and the Minnesota DNR.  As a condition of providing a permit, the DNR required that fish passage be part of the repair of the dam structure.  When the project was originally constructed, the DNR did not want to allow fish passage, to control rough fish migrating upstream.

Working with the DNR, an acceptable repair plan was developed, creating fish passage, while keeping the original project intent, which is to control ice.

Basically, the repair plan calls for doing a repair of the north bank where the break out occurred with sheet piling, which will necessitate removal of the old power house.  A rock and earthen bank will be constructed behind the sheet piling.  The dam itself will be notched, reducing the crest by six feet in the middle, and four feet on the ends.  A rock arch rapids will be developed below the dam, which will allow fish passage.  There will be three foot concrete blocks installed on top of the dam, which will cause ice to be raised up when going over the dam and broken up.  The repair plans also call for the construction of a structure below the dam to help control erosion.

Developing fish passage made the repair project more expensive.  The original repair estimate to put the dam back to its pre-flood condition was in the in the range of $400,000 to $500,000.  Including the fish passage to the repair, the total project cost is estimated at $824,000.

Watershed managers made the decision that there would be no assessment to land owners in the Heiberg Dam Project benefiting area to pay for the repair project.  The Board agreed that a funding package has to be developed with outside sources before the repair goes to construction.

The DNR has approved 100,000 for the project.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife has also approved $70,000 for the repair, plus an additional $40,000 is available as a 2:1 matching grant.  The White Earth Tribe has been granted a $100,000 grant for the repair, and it is hoped to use in-kind funds for some of the 2:1 non-federal matching funds required in the grant.  FEMA has given preliminary approval for $500,000 of the cost.  Other funding options have also been discussed, including a request to the 2005 State Legislature.

The district also continued working with FEMA to finalize the environmental review of the project.  Soil boring at the site was approved to have the information available to create the final repair design one the funding package is completed.

The Watershed District Board of Managers is hoping that the funding package can be completed in the near future to do repairs in 2005.

FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION PROGRAMS

Voluntary Home Acquisition Program

Immediately after the flood of 1997, the Wild Rice Watershed District began asking rural residents whose homes were damaged by the flood if they were interested in a rural voluntary acquisition program, with the Watershed District acting as the rural sponsor. 

By early summer, there was a good deal of local interest and an application was made by the District to the Minnesota Recovers Task Force.  By October, letters went out to 23 applicants in the rural residential voluntary acquisition program, with 21 of the applicants returning a signed form requesting an appraisal of their home.  Norman County approved entering a sub-grant agreement with the watershed district to administer the additional voluntary flood prone home acquisition program funded by the Department of Trade and Economics (DTED).  This program became available to a number of applicants who lived outside the 100 year flood plain, and were determined to have less than 50 percent damage.

Following the 2002 summer flooding requests were received from rural residents whose home were damaged or threatened by the flood and were interested in a rural voluntary acquisition program.  The Board of Managers approved seeking funding assistance from FEMA and the Division of Emergency Management for an additional acquisition program.

The list of applicants received approval in the spring of 2003, unfortunately, lack of funding for FEMA put the project on hold for much of the remainder of the year.  The District received approval in November of 2003 and moved forward with appraisals in early 2004.  With the completion of appraisals there were six applicants not satisfied with the appraisal amounts.  The District moved forward with the purchase of eight flood damaged properties and approved a contract for environmental assessments and asbestos removal.  One home was re-purchased by the owner and moved to another site.  Another damaged home was approved for use as a practice burn to provide fire department personnel training, after asbestos was removed from the home.  A demolition contract on the remaining properties was approved in December.  Total projects administrated by the District since 1997 are 45.

RURAL RING DIKE PROGRAM

Many rural people in the Wild Rice Watershed District who saw flood water surround and damage their homes, out buildings and equipment last spring are feeling a bit safer thanks to the very successful ring dike program.

The local ring dike program is being sponsored and administered by the Wild Rice Watershed District and at the end of 1997 there have been 112 of the ring dikes completed.

The Minnesota Recovers Task Force recommended the special appropriation for the ring dike projects, with the DNR providing $900,000 in cost share funds in the Red River Valley.  The appropriation to the Wild Rice Watershed District was $300,000 for ring dike projects.

The Red River Watershed Management Board also approved funding 50% of the local share of the projects, with the Wild Rice Watershed District providing 12.5 percent of the cost.  Homeowners are responsible for the remaining 12.5 percent.

The first 25 applications for a ring dike were prioritized by the watershed district for possible completion and funding during 1997.  The initial work was completed on these first applications, including engineering, surveys, estimates of the amount of clay and dirt needed to construct the dike and cost estimates.  The ring dikes are being built to an elevation that is two feet above the 100-year fold elevation, or two feet above the flood of record.  In most cases, contractors push back the black dirt on fields surrounding the homes, remove clay needed for construction, and then pack the area down and replace the top soil.

At the end of 1997 there were over 40 requests for rural ring dike program assistance from people who live in the District.  The Board of Managers requested that the 1998 State Legislature consider additional funding to do more of the flood protection projects in the District.

A great deal of interest continues in the rural ring dike program in the watershed district and four new projects were constructed in 2004.  A total of 49 rural flood protection projects have been built or are under construction in the District since the 1997 flood. 

Early in 2004 the Board of Managers approved prioritizing the 30-plus application requests to the District for assistance with building rural dikes to protect homes, out buildings and equipment.  Projects are prioritized considering frequency of flooding, project cost and most efficient use of available funds.  The projects in the District have been funded through use the State of Minnesota flood hazard mitigation funds administered by the Department of Natural Resources (50%) the Red River Watershed Management Board (25%), the WRWD (12.5%) and the program applicants 12.5%).

The cost share nature of the program makes the levee projects affordable for rural home owners.  The Board of Managers approved going forward with the top four projects on the priority list.  The DNR approved approximately $50,000 for the rural ring dike program in the watershed district in 2004.  The allocation from the state in 2005 is also expected to be $50,000 in the Wild Rice Watershed District.

51 ring dikes were built in 2004-2005, 2 more estimated for 2006 and 2 or 3 are possible in 2007.   The total amount spent on the ring dike program through June 29, 2006 is $1,723,357.12. 

SANDE DETENTION

The Board of Managers, in an effort to find a solution to extensive annual erosion on County Ditch No. 45, requiring sediment removal from the downstream channel and the potential for damaging silt deposits accumulating in Project No. 13, initiated planning for an upstream water flow control structure.  The Southwest Quarter (SW ¼) of Section Seven (7), Sundal township was chosen as the logical site and the land was purchased in 1987.  Plans included a multiple dam structure which would reduce outflows to an acceptable level.  The Project was approved by the Lower Red River Watershed Management Board for funding.  Final plans were approved, permits received, and a contract awarded to Schipper construction of Hillsboro, ND.  All pools and outlet controls were installed in 1989.  The inlet structure was installed in 1990.  Seeding of the embankments was completed in 1990.  This project shows excellent prospects towards being a prime wildlife area and providing the flow control needed to alleviate downstream erosion.
 Rainfall events in August of 1992 caused the first runoff in the watershed since the project was constructed.  The runoff filled all seven pools with outflow from the lower overflow openings only.

The proect performed as designed during its first opportunity to do so.

More Projects...