Public input sought by flood task force group at Thursday meeting

The Metro Flood Study Work Group will take public input Thursday on plans to provide permanent flood protection for the Fargo-Moorhead metro area.

The meeting will be held 3 to 5 p.m. in Centennial Hall of the Civic Memorial Auditorium, 207 4th St. N., Fargo.

The work group is tasked with selecting a flood control option that Fargo, Moorhead and Cass and Clay county leaders can vote on in the next few weeks.

Two diversions of the Red River through Minnesota, and one diversion in North Dakota, are being weighed for costs and benefits.

The smaller of the Minnesota diversions is seen as the nation’s best deal for the dollar. It provides 100-year flood protection.

The other two diversions move nearly twice as much water and have much higher price tags, but offer 500-year flood protection.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials have said a locally preferred plan must be chosen by April 15 to have the project considered by Congress in December.