Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
computer models did not predict these things because of the particular
characteristics of the river and its surroundings.
The Red River's swollen waters have long tormented Fargo, North
Dakota's largest city (population 90,000), and its sister city of Moor-
head, Minnesota (population 35,000) across the river. In December
2009, with memories of farmhouses surrounded by miles of water still
vivid, the residents of the two cities came up with a $1 billion solution:
they proposed construction of a water diversion project to carry the
fl oodwaters around the cities, with two-thirds of the cost borne by the
federal government.
But there is a problem: Where would the diverted water go? Residents
of the small towns near Fargo, some of which were isolated for nearly
two months last spring, fear that any diversion would send extra fl ood-
waters straight at them. As the mayor of one small town said, “There's
only one place for it [the fl oodwater] to go—our way—and we can't
take it any more, believe me. Fargo and Moorhead are the big guns.
We don't have the people. We don't have the money. But this is going
to affect all the little towns.” A manager with the local Wild Rice
Watershed District, which represents rural communities in six counties,
said, “We really want the cities to get their protection, and we're not
trying to be confrontational, but we're worried and we need a seat at
the table on this.”
The mayor of Fargo has a different emphasis. He said he has watched
for years as disputes and ambivalence prevented enacting a permanent
solution to his city's fl ood problem. “If this is ever going to get done,
ever in my lifetime, this is the opportunity. This is it.”
Everyone in the areas affected by the repeated fl ooding agrees that a
solution is needed. But what is fair to the residents of both the big cities
and the farming communities?
What should citizens and municipalities along dangerous rivers be
doing to prevent another catastrophe like the fl oods of 1993 and
2009? Although there are no guarantees of safety near riverbanks,
some measures can reduce the risk:
Every state geological survey should publish fl oodplain maps to inform
the public of the locations of fl ood-prone areas.
Construction on fl oodplains should be strongly discouraged. Flood-
plains are built by rivers that overfl ow and indicate the areas adjacent
to the river where the river is likely to return and construction is ill
advised. Owners of existing structures should be encouraged to relocate
by new zoning laws and increases in municipal taxes.
