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86:. The Metro Flood Diversion Authority, a permanent North Dakota political subdivision, oversees the non-federal work, which includes a public-private partnership (P3) for the stormwater diversion channel and its associated infrastructure. The project is the first P3 ever done in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is a pilot project for the split-delivery model nationwide. It's also the first P3 water management project in North America, and the first green finance initiative in the United States specifically designed for climate change adaptation.
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during times of extreme flooding. The gates tie into the southern embankment, behind which floodwaters will be held in an upstream staging area of nearly 30,000 acres. Once collected in the staging area, floodwaters would then be routed through the
Diversion Inlet Structure into the stormwater diversion channel and away from the metro area. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors are building these portions.
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70:, two first-of-their-kind aqueducts to enable fish passage across the channel, three gated structures to control water flows, and a variety of road and railroad crossings, road grade raises, floodwalls/levees, stormwater lift stations, channel inlets, wetland restoration acreage and mitigation projects
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As part of the overall project, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and Metro Flood Diversion Authority are implementing a number of mitigation projects. Among these are funding and/or constructing levees in nearby communities, completing wetland restoration projects, and acquiring flowage easements for
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The project also locked in low-interest loans, including a federally subsidized $ 569 million loan for 2.08% interest from the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, $ 55 million in State Revolving Fund loans from the North Dakota Public Finance Agency, and $ 280 million in U.S. Department of
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in the 1960s to protect the city from the Red River. The project includes a diversion channel around the east of
Winnipeg and cost an estimated $ 63 Million (CAD), approximately $ 360 million today. To date, the Floodway has been used more than 20 times and prevented more than $ 100 billion (CAD) in
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The project received $ 750 million from the federal government, which includes $ 437 million from the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. North Dakota allocated $ 850 million to the project, and Minnesota contributed $ 135 million. Local sales taxes approved by voters in Fargo and Cass County,
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The
Stormwater Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure section of the FM Area Diversion project includes a 30-mile stormwater diversion channel that will route water around the metro area, a diversion outlet, aqueducts on the Maple and Sheyenne rivers, fourteen drainage inlets tied to the
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The
Southern Embankment and Associated Infrastructure portion of the FM Area Diversion project includes a 22-mile earthen embankment, road raises, bridge crossings and three gated structures. The structures have large, radial-arm Tainter gates that will open or close to control floodwater levels
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created a joint task force to develop engineering options to address the
Minnesota DNR's concerns about the project's impacts. The Metro Flood Diversion Authority submitted its Plan B proposal following the work of the Governors' Task Force, which changed the alignment of the embankment and also
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The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers conducted a feasibility study for flood protection in the Fargo-Moorhead area in September 2008, with the initial Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement published in 2010. The goals of the study were to find a plan that reduced flood risk and
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Under the project agreements, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers is designing and constructing the southern embankment, water control structures and associated infrastructure. The non-federal sponsors, in turn, will design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the stormwater diversion channel,
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Worcester Diversion Project in 1957 to protect the towns of Auburn and Millbury. The project was completed in 1960 at a cost of $ 5.2 million. The 11,300 foot open diversion channel allows potential floodwaters to go around Worcester and flow into the
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The Red River has flooded the Red River Valley numerous times since the late 1800s, and eight of the top 10 floods have occurred since 1989. When it is ready to operate in 2027, the roughly $ 3.2 billion project will protect more than 273,000 people in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area from
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Under the P3 model adopted by the MFDA, the RRVA has taken responsibility for pre-financing the entire portion of its construction work until it is completed and turned over for operation. The agreement provides for milestone payments throughout construction as well as for RRVA taking on the
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project, also known as the Assiniboine River Floodway, is near Portage la Prairie Manitoba. It includes a 29 km long diversion channel that drains directly into Lake Manitoba and prevents flooding downriver in Winnipeg. The project was built at a cost of $ 20.5 million in
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The W. Darcy McKeough Floodway is meant to reduce the threat of flooding for Wallaceburg, Ontario. The project includes a dam embankment, and a concrete control structure with two gates. The diversion channel is seven kilometers long and divers water into the St. Clair
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The initial study looked at multiple alternatives that could reduce flooding, including no action (continuing to use emergency measures and sand bags), nonstructural measures, construction of flood barriers and levees, diversion channels and flood storage.
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aqueducts, numerous road and railroad crossings and in-town work, including levees, floodwalls and stormwater lift stations. Numerous mitigation projects involving wetlands, native plantings and fish passage have been incorporated in the project.
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The FM Area Diversion project includes multiple components in four key areas that, together, will protect the community from flooding by 2027. It's designed to withstand a 100-year flood and provide fightable protection for a 500-year flood.
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and its non-federal sponsors completing different parts of the project simultaneously. A Project Partnership Agreement pairs the Corps of Engineers with the project's non-federal sponsors — the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, City of
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is on the Assiniboine River in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada. The Dam was built in the late 1960s and the outflow is controlled by a gated structure. The project protects the city of Winnipeg from flooding from the Assiniboine
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The FM Area Diversion project is intended to protect the FM-area economy, which generated a Gross Regional Product of $ 16.8 billion in 2021. It is being funded and financed through federal, state and local sources.
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in Fargo (Fargo gauge). As of 2023, the Red River had reached this stage in 60 of the previous 124 years (1902 through 2023), and in every year except 2012, 2016 and 2021 from 1993 through 2013.
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catastrophic flooding. Ultimately, it also will free residents and businesses from the need for flood insurance once the project is certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
31:(FM) Area Diversion project, officially known as the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Diversion Flood Risk Management Project, is a large, regional flood control infrastructure project on the
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The project was authorized for construction by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. The design and construction are being done using a split-delivery model, with the
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Two diversion concepts were carried forward at the end of the study, including a diversion channel in Minnesota and a diversion channel in North Dakota. However, in 2016, the
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damages to the Fargo-Moorhead area, restored or improved habitat along the rivers in the area, provided additional wetland habitat and recreational opportunities with
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City and county governments are working on in-town protection measures that include levees, floodwalls, stormwater lift stations, road improvements and grade raises.
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The Red River has flooded the Fargo-Moorhead area numerous times, with the most recent significant flood events taking place in 1997, 2009 and 2011 (
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channel, three railroad crossings, two interstate highway crossings, and 12 county road crossings. It is being built by ASN Constructors.
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USA, and North American Construction Group, serves as the P3 developer, and its design and construction arm is ASN Constructors.
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Several tributaries along the Red River also flood and cause damage in the Fargo-Moorhead area, including the Wild Rice River,
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Attendees at a public meeting about the FM Area Diversion Project look at a posterboard about projected project expenses.
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The project includes a 30-mile stormwater diversion channel that extends from just south of Horace, ND, to north of
692:"Burgum applauds Minnesota DNR's approval of permit for Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project, thanks task force"
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The Red River Valley Alliance, a private, international consortium of builders consisting of ACCIONA,
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A rendering of what the channel portion of the FM Area Diversion Project may look like.
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allowed more water to flow through the Fargo-Moorhead area during project operation.
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587:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority Selects Red River Valley Alliance as P3 Partner"
547:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority Selects Red River Valley Alliance as P3 Partner"
487:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority Selects Red River Valley Alliance as P3 Partner"
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Contractors working at the Wild Rice River Control Structure south of Fargo, ND.
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N.D., will generate an anticipated $ 1.2 billion to pay long-term debt service.
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properties that will be impacted when the FM Area Diversion project operates.
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1002:"W. Darcy McKeough Floodway « St. Clair Region Conservation Authority"
978:"W. Darcy McKeough Floodway « St. Clair Region Conservation Authority"
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project's operation and maintenance for 30 years after its completion.
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507:"U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Association"
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Blackstone River. The project also includes a control dam.
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Local Entity Flood Protection and Associated Infrastructure
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Stormwater Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure
647:"Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) Documents"
651:
FM Diversion - Fargo Moorhead Area Diversion Project
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Mitigation Features & Associated Infrastructure
712:"Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp"
238:Southern Embankment and Associated Infrastructure
732:"U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District"
141:, Maple River, Rush River and Lower Rush River.
16:Flood control project on the Red River in the US
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150:United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauge
672:"Minnesota Department of Natural Resources"
177:Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
816:"Center for Innovative Finance Support"
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208:Transportation Private Activity Bonds.
182:In October 2017, North Dakota Governor
23:A map of the FM Area Diversion Project.
772:"U.S. Environmental Protection Agency"
467:"American Society of Civil Engineers"
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954:"Worcester Local Protection Project"
936:"Worcester Local Protection Project"
144:The Red River routinely exceeds the
1042:Flood control in the United States
269:The city of Winnipeg built to the
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527:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority"
444:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority"
384:"Metro Flood Diversion Authority"
179:denied a permit for the project.
35:, which forms the border between
94:Public-Private Partnership (P3)
148:flood stage of 18 feet at the
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186:and then-Minnesota Governor
75:U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
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876:"Upstream Mitigation Maps"
607:"National Weather Service"
118:Flooding in Fargo in 2009.
793:"SRF Overview Fact Sheet"
274:cumulative flood damages.
146:National Weather Service
1047:Red River of the North
958:www.nae.usace.army.mil
940:www.nae.usace.army.mil
424:"Stormwater Solutions"
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33:Red River of the North
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158:flood risk management
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1022:FM Diversion Website
916:"Project Components"
896:"Project Components"
856:"Project Components"
836:"Project Components"
279:Shellmouth Reservoir
132:2011 Red River flood
128:2009 Red River flood
124:1997 Red River flood
1037:Tunnel construction
43:and flows north to
752:"How It is Funded"
567:"ASN Constructors"
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271:Red River Floodway
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100:Shikun & Binui
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774:. 28 January 2020
295:Portage Diversion
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37:North Dakota
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188:Mark Dayton
184:Doug Burgum
1031:Categories
987:2017-01-05
963:2017-01-05
921:2023-03-15
901:2023-03-15
881:2023-03-15
861:2023-03-15
841:2023-03-15
821:2023-03-15
801:2023-03-15
778:2023-03-15
757:2023-04-05
737:2023-03-15
717:2023-04-05
697:2023-04-05
677:2023-01-05
657:2017-01-05
632:2023-01-05
612:2023-01-05
592:2023-04-05
572:2023-10-09
552:2023-04-05
532:2023-07-23
512:2023-05-08
492:2022-06-08
472:2022-04-23
452:2023-07-23
429:2023-06-22
409:2023-07-23
389:2023-09-22
369:2023-07-23
349:2023-07-23
329:2023-08-24
311:References
160:features.
195:Economics
80:Fargo, ND
41:Minnesota
110:History
364:"FEMA"
306:River.
282:River.
212:Design
796:(PDF)
447:(PDF)
298:1970.
68:Fargo
293:The
277:The
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27:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
