Following the 2011 flood of record event, North Dakota developed a preliminary engineering report that evaluated alternatives to mitigate flood risks throughout the Souris (Mouse) River Basin. The report recommended a flood risk management project that would provide protection up to the 2011 flood of record levels, or approximately 27,400 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Location

The Souris River in the North Dakota cities of Burlington, Minot, Logan and Sawyer had a flood of record in 2011 with flows of 27,400 cfs. These flows devastated the communities, causing evacuations of more than 10,000 residents and millions of dollars in damage to private and public property.

Description

The Souris River flows from Saskatchewan, Canada, into North Dakota and then back into Canada.

There are several existing federal flood risk management projects within the Souris Basin: the implementation of this plan will require U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permission under Title 33 U.S. Code (USC) 408 of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, as amended.

Status

The Souris River Joint Water Resource Board has undertaken a large engineering and design effort that includes National Environmental Policy Act compliance plus hydrologic and hydraulic modeling throughout the project’s current scope, which is defined as the upstream end of the city of Burlington, North Dakota, to the downstream end of Minot, North Dakota. In addition, the board has completed a detailed design for the construction of seven reaches of levees or floodwalls within the city of Minot. The final Environmental Impact Statement was published in July 2017, and the Record of Decision was signed in December 2017. The board held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 28, 2018. Detailed design for future phases of the plan is also ongoing.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will review all proposed project documents to ensure the project is in compliance with Section 408 and that the proposed project will not be injurious to the public interest and will not impair the usefulness of any existing federal works.