Smaller communities worried they won't be considered during flood protection planning

Harwood, ND (WDAY TV) - Homeowners in Harwood turned out in force tonight to listen and talk about how they're affected by permanent flood protection. Some are worried smaller communities aren't being thought about when it comes to planning.

Tonight's meeting was to hear stories and get ideas on flood protection. Instead, it turned into a discussion about diversions, an overwhelming majority supporting one in North Dakota.

Ted Roers knows what being in a flood is all about. He's been through it many times before.

“For 6.5 weeks we walked the railroad tracks to get home.”

Tonight, Roers is one of about one hundred homeowners seeing how places outside the metro will benefit with a diversion.

“Put it in Minnesota and that won't help us.”

“They say four years, I don't see that happening.”

From city to counties to the federal government, everyone is looking at cost benefit of a North Dakota diversion. Leaders say it doesn't add up. So far, no North Dakota diversion is at a one. Without that key number, communities and states are on their own to fund the project.

For Harwood alone, the town has seen considerable damage to floods. It now is looking at smaller projects like dikes until a larger one is done. For homeowners like Roers, they worry without a North Dakota diversion; they'll once again be battling high water at a cost to them.

The Corps still has to look at other cost benefit down the road. So far, it doesn't figure in transportation benefits so the cost benefit ratio could go above one for a North Dakota diversion. For more information on upcoming meetings, go to redriverbasincommission.org.

West Fargo’s Mayor is supporting a plan for a diversion near the city, about a mile and a half west. Cass County's Joint Watershed Board is looking at a North Dakota diversion. It says it would benefit people near the Maple and Sheyenne rivers from overland flooding.

Mayor Rich Mattern says a diversion would likely take land out of the flood plain for development. Compared to the Sheyenne diversion, more work would need to be done to get approval from landowners.

“Realistically when you're talking about land, and building a diversion, and the cost of over a billion dollars, that that whole process and getting all these entities together to work on this, that that's not an easy thing to do.”

The Watershed District can create a taxing authority if property owners approve the plan.