Council considers Maple Diversion options | News, sports, work

Jill Schramm/MDN Jerry Bents of Houston Engineering presents options for the Maple Diversion project to the Minot City Council. Council members from left are Rob Fuller, Mark Jantzer and Scott Samuelson.

Minot City Council members had to weigh acquisitions, construction costs and long-term impacts after Wednesday’s discussion with engineers about the proposed Maple Diversion flood control feature.

They plan to return on Oct. 21 to possibly provide guidance to engineers who have presented various design options for a floodwater drainage project that is impacting rail lines, residents and roadways in west Minot in the Second Avenue area.

Engineers proposed placing Second Avenue on the dry or wet side of the levees or simply eliminating the road. The decision affects the number of acquisitions necessary.

Water will be released into the diversion canal when the river reaches 3,000 cubic feet per second, which will impact Second Avenue if placed inside the diversion.

“I have been cooperating with the city for 19 years. I definitely saw 3,000 cf.” said Jason Sorenson, director of municipal services for the city of Minot. He said it happened several times. Flooding of the road would require significant clean-up after the subsequent closure of the diversion canal, and repeated flooding of the road would cause subsurface degradation, resulting in higher maintenance costs, he added.

Depending on the chosen configuration, it would be necessary to purchase from 5 to 11 properties. Some configurations, particularly those where fewer properties are purchased, can add up to $5.3 million to the cost, depending on the specifics of the project. Flood walls would also be more expensive than levees, although they retain more properties.

Ryan Ackerman, administrator of the Souris River Joint Authority, said a council decision is not required until Oct. 21 and the extension of time will not delay construction.

“This is a really important part of this process and we realize this is not an easy decision for you, so we are asking you to consider this. Think about it.” he said.

“I just think we want to make the right decision that balances the public costs – I think the social costs are the ones you mentioned earlier – with the actual dollar costs associated with it,” he added. council member Mike Blessum told Ackerman.

Ackerman also emphasized that Maple Diversion will be designed to provide full flood protection, ensuring that all Minot Valley residents will be out of flood areas requiring flood insurance once flood protection is completed.