A diversion project to ease flooding in Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., would involve constructing a 36-mile-long diversion channel in North Dakota to direct floodwater around the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District said in announcing that the project is being sent to Washington for funding.
The project would temporarily store up to 200,000 acre-feet of flood water immediately upstream of the diversion channel inlet in order to minimize downstream impacts.
If authorization and funding are received, construction could begin as early as April 2013, the announcement said.
Col. Michael Price, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District commander, said, "This is a huge milestone for the Fargo-Moorhead Metro area and for the teams that have been working on this for more than three years."
