The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Saint Paul District, and Valley City, N.D., will enter into a formal agreement to partner in a flood risk management study.
Valley City Mayor Bob Werkhoven and Col. Michael Price, St. Paul District commander, will celebrate this partnership by participating in a signing ceremony of a cost sharing agreement at 1 p.m., April 10, at City Hall, 254 2nd Ave. NE, Valley City.
The Valley City, Sheyenne River Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study will identify measures to reduce average annual flood damages and to reduce flood-related risks to public safety in Valley City.
Extensive emergency efforts were required to combat the extreme flooding in 2009 and 2011, when large scale damages were barely avoided.
The study partners will evaluate alternatives for flood damage reduction and flood risk management. The purpose of the study is to identify an implementable project that will reduce the overall risk of flooding. The study will be developed in coordination with the public and a number of local, state and federal agencies.
Public meetings will be held throughout the life of the project and will be used to gain input and suggestions on possible alternatives. The study has been broken into three phases. The first phase, which will cost approximately $500,000 and is anticipated to be complete in December of 2012, includes initial data collection, an update to the area hydrology, analysis of the current flood damage reduction projects and the development of the initial alternatives.
Project alternatives will be compared and evaluated in Phase 2 and a tentatively selected plan will be established. Phase 3 will include the development of the tentatively selected plan.
The complete study is estimated to cost $1.5 million and take 2.5 years to complete. The Corps of Engineers will pay half the expenses, and Valley City will pay the other half.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, serves the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response.
It contributes around $175 million to the five-state district economy. The 700 employees work at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states.
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Dredging Today Staff, April 3, 2012;