Fargo Representative Al Carlson says he is proposing a two part funding bill in the next legislative session that would address two big problems for the city of Fargo.
The plan provides 275 million dollars in funding for water projects. Carlson says 125 million of those dollars would pay for internal flood protection projects all over the city of Fargo. 20 million for downtown projects, 60 million for acquisition and protection, 25 million to raise bridges and roads and 20 million for acquisition and protection of the River Corridor. Carlson says the remaining 150 million dollars will provide state funding to the Red River Valley Water Supply Project, which is a plan to transport water from the Missouri River to the Red River in dry years. Carlson says the plan has been in the works for years, but having to wait on federal funding has stalled it. He says it may be hard to imagine a drought after so many wet years.
"We have a simple problem in the bottom of this fishbowl; we either have too much water or we don't have enough and it's not a matter of if the drought will come, it's when the drought will come."
Fargo's Deputy Mayor Tim Mahoney says each flood takes a major toll on Fargo and its people, and the need for this type of legislation is only heightened with new regulations taking place after the new year.
"What's accelerated that need right now is flood insurance. So for flood insurance for our homeowners, FEMA's new flood map comes out in January and when that comes out the clock starts ticking. So when people would normally pay for liability coverage for $400 a year, that could be bumped two to three to four times that in a four year period. So from our point of view at the city, we need to accelerate some of our work on our flood projects."
Fargo's City Engineer April Walker says once the flood projects are completed it would remove 23-hundred homes from the new flood plain. Carlson says the plan will also help homeowners save several thousands of dollars in special assessments on their homes.
