Recently completed ring dike in Traill County.

Following the record floods of 2009, a program was funded through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's Environmental Quality Incentives Program for the development or enhancement of ring dikes around farmsteads. The benefits of the projects funded under this program are two-fold, as they not only provide flood protection, but also reduce the potential for chemicals and agricultural wastes from entering floodwaters and impairing water quality. Initially the program was funded at $1 million for North Dakota, but because of its popularity, an additional $1.4 million was added, for a total of $2.4 million. To read more about this program, download a PDF of the November 2009 issue of The Oxbow.

The State Water Commission met on November 12 in Bismarck. The meeting agenda and informational material can be downloaded at the link below. Or, contact Sharon Locken at slocken@nd.gov, or call 701-328-4940.

November 12, 2009 Meeting Agenda

The Commission's December meeting will be held on December 11 at 9:00 am in the Lamborn Room at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck. Agenda and informational material will be available at a later date.

Missouri River

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are conducting a collaborative long-term study and planning process called the Missouri River Ecosystem Restoration Plan (MRERP). The overall purpose of MRERP is to identify actions that will: restore Missouri River ecosystem functions, mitigate habitat losses, and recover native fish and wildlife on the Missouri River. As part of this process, the Corps and Service are looking for input from you to help shape the restoration plan. Comments on the project's draft purpose and need statements are being collected until December 1. For more information, visit the MRERP website at www.mrerp.org. Click here for the link to the Comment Form.

"Big Dam Era," one of the essential reference books for anyone interested in contemporary Missouri River water issues, is now available online. Written by John Ferrell, Ph.D., the book is a legislative and institutional history of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River basin program, from the construction of Fort Peck Dam in 1933, to the start of the Missouri River Master Water Control Manual Review and Update in 1993. The book has been out-of-print for several years, but is now available in a PDF format at no cost in the Current Topics section of the Omaha District Army Corps of Engineers' homepage: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/.

The draft 2009-2010 Annual Operating Plan for the Missouri River has been released by the Army Corps of Engineers for public comment. The plan presents information on the anticipated regulation of the Missouri River main stem reservoir system for 2010 and the remainder of 2009. Six public meetings were held in October to present and discuss the plan and answer questions. Comments, both oral and written, will be accepted by the Corps until November 20.

A series of focus group and tribal meetings in support of the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study is being sponsored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The meetings will stretch over several months and will be conducted in various locations throughout the Missouri River basin as well as sites along the Mississippi River. The second meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, in Bismarck, at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, 515 N. 5th St., from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The first meeting is being held on Nov. 19 in Kansas City, Kan. The Army Corps of Engineers has been directed by Congress to conduct a review of the original purposes established by the 1944 Flood Control Act. The goal of the multi-year study is to determine if changes in the original project purposes are warranted. The eight purposes are flood control, hydropower, water supply, irrigation, navigation, recreation, water quality and fish and wildlife. Infrastructure operated both the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation is included in the study. Additional information on the authorized purposes study is available at www.mraps.org.

Temporary levee along 2nd St. in Fargo, Spring 2009.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a study that is getting plenty of attention. The Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Feasibility Study will look at permanent flood control solutions for these two communities, and for the surrounding area. The urban areas along the Red, Wild Rice, Buffalo, and Sheyenne Rivers have a long history of facing flood-related risks. The Corps estimates that average annual flood damages in the study area are currently at over $64 million. If Fargo and Moorhead were to experience a catastrophic failure with their current flood protection during a 100-year flood, damages could exceed $2 billion. For the full story, download a PDF of the July 2009 issue of The Oxbow.

SWMP

The Water Commission recently completed a new 2009 North Dakota State Water Management Plan (SWMP). The overall purpose of the new SWMP is to: provide information regarding current and projected water use; identify areas where water is generally available for new beneficial uses; identify goals and objectives for water resource management and development; identify potential water resource management and development projects and programs; provide current information regarding the Water Commission's revenue sources for water project development; serve as a formal request for funding from the Resources Trust Fund; and broadly identify water resource management and development opportunities and challenges, and provide recommendations to address them.

To download a copy of the State Water Management Plan or the Executive Summary, click here. To request a hard copy of the SWMP, call (701) 328-4989, or e-mail dschock@nd.gov.

2009-2011 Strategic Plan

The 2009-2011 State Water Commission and Office of the State Engineer Strategic Plan has been completed. The new Strategic Plan contains descriptions and overviews of the agency's major projects and programs. To develop the 2009-2011 Strategic Plan, project and program managers were asked to provide input regarding their expectations for future progress through June 30, 2011. As part of that effort, they were asked to provide project and/or program objectives that they will strive to accomplish during the strategic planning timeframe, as well as specific tasks that will be completed to achieve their objectives.

To request a hard copy of the plan, call (701) 328-4989, or e-mail dschock@nd.gov. Click here to download a PDF of the plan.

A flowing well in western North Dakota.

The Fox Hills-Hell Creek aquifer is a vital source of water for livestock, domestic, municipal, and industrial uses in western North Dakota. The aquifer is artesian, which allows wells in low-lying areas to flow. The pressure in the aquifer is declining at an average rate of approximately one foot per year. If the current trend continues, a majority of the flowing wells installed in the aquifer will stop flowing within the next 60-90 years.

On a ten-year frequency, the State Water Commission monitors flowing well pressure changes in the aquifer and publishes the results in three reports. In association with each report, brochures titled: Flowing Well Pressure Changes in 1) Billings, Golden Valley, and Slope Counties, 2) McKenzie County, and 3) the Knife River Basin were recently published.

The pressure in the Fox Hills-Hell Creek aquifer may be declining at a rate greater than is necessary. Conservation of the pressure is essential for maximizing the life of the flowing wells. Procedures to minimize pressure decline are described in the brochures.

To download a brochure, click here: Flowing Well Brochures. To download a report, click on Water Resource Investigations and choose WRI No 42, WRI No 43, or WRI No 44. For more information or to request brochures, contact Rex Honeyman, SWC Hydrologist, at 701-328-2754 or by e-mail at rhoneyman@nd.gov.