Red River Retention Authority releases list of 2024 priority projects

Feb. 27—FARGO — The Red River Retention Authority has released its 2024 Red River Basin Priority Watershed Projects list, which includes 21 different flood retention projects in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.

The list was created based on a few different criteria, a release said. These include "the project status and how close it is to being 'shovel ready,' is the planning completed, land rights secured, permits secured and adequate funds secured."

These projects involve dam construction and repairs, creating or restoring channels, which help move water and prevent flooding, and the restoration of wetlands and floodplains.

The areas these projects are in include Grand Forks, Walsh, Sargent, Richland, Cass, Pembina and Traill counties in North Dakota, and Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Norman and Traverse counties in Minnesota.

Grand Forks County has three projects on the priority list, all involving dams. One project is a plan for a dam in the upper Turtle River. The project's preliminary design and construction cost estimate is around 90% complete, according to the release, and the next step will be analyzing the environmental impacts of the dam. Dams in Fordville and Larimore are also having projects done to rehabilitate them, to bring them back into compliance with state and federal dams safety standards. The Fordville dam's rehabilitation is on track to be completed this year, while the Larimore dam's is expected to be done in 2025.