Cost of North Dakota’s Souris River Flood Plan: $820M

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A long-term Souris River flood protection plan in North Dakota could cost $820 million.

Engineers have released their 1,500-page proposal to protect areas from Burlington through Minot to Velva, and also Mouse River Park in Renville County. It would cost $154 million to acquire property for levees, flood walls and other structures, and $565 million to build them. The rest of the cost is engineering and management expenses.

Nearly 400 residential properties would have to be removed for the project, which would include two river diversion proposals in Minot. The river swamped more than 4,000 homes and businesses in North Dakota’s fourth-largest city and forced thousands of people to evacuate last year when heavy spring snow melt and rains on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border pushed it to record levels.

“This is one of many alternatives that are going to be considered,” Ryan Ackerman with Ackerman-Estvold Engineering of Minot told KXMC-TV. “The report really has the potential to provide the framework for future decision-making in the basin.”

The flood protection plan is likely to be funded with a mix of federal, state and local dollars.

“We knew it was going to be a large number,” Minot City Council Chairman Dean Frantsvog said. “So to finally get the number out there and take some time and digest it. … I think that’s important for the city to do right now.”

The council will meet on March 7 to decide the next move, the Minot Daily News reported.

“Certainly there are items that could be trimmed from the project to bring the cost down,” said Jason Westbrock with BARR Engineering of Bismarck. “It is all a matter of what you are willing to live with during a flood and what is an acceptable level of risk.”

The proposed protection plan can be found at http://www.mouseriverplan.com .

“There’s a lot of data to read, comprehend and digest,” Westbrock said. “It will take some time.”