Spring thaw is weeks away, but Grand Forks staff already are gearing up for what City Administrator Todd Feland said could be a “top-five flood.”
The city’s flood action plan is fundamentally the same as in prior years, according to City Engineer Al Grasser. But, at some point, City Council members may have to make a pair of policy decisions, Feland said at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
The first: how much more should the city beef up flood protection around Adams Drive and Shady Ridge, a southeastern area of Grand Forks near a snaking bend of the Red River?
“We did more in that area just to make sure everything was OK and, thankfully, last spring, the water didn’t come up as high as we anticipated,” Feland said. “But we should have some conversations about what you want us to do in that area.”
He suggested meeting with Sandi Marshall, the Council member whose ward encompasses that neighborhood.
The second policy consideration: should the city raise its levies by up to three feet, beginning with the area around Lincoln Drive?
Monday’s agenda item about flood preparedness was labeled “discussion only,” which means council members made no decision on it. Council members may need to begin more formal deliberations next month.
According to National Weather Service data Grasser presented to Council members on Monday, there is an approximately 80% chance that floodwaters will exceed 46 feet -- the threshold for “major” flooding -- this spring. There is a roughly 1.5% chance they’ll rise above 60 feet, which is the height of the city’s levee system. Those calculations were based on conditions the service recorded on Jan. 20.
The fall of 2019 was a particularly wet one, and that generally indicates a wet spring. President Donald Trump granted North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s December request for a disaster declaration in the state. That declaration frees up Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to help cities like Grand Forks fix up infrastructure damaged by fall storms and the ensuing spring floods.
Feland said Grand Forks may need to declare an emergency soon in order to be eligible for a share of that money. Mayor Mike Brown declared a series of emergencies last fall to do the same, but his power to do so is limited. A council declaration would have more staying power.
