Jill Schramm /MDN Design of safety improvements on a low-head dam near the Minot Water Treatment Plant will proceed with funding help from the State Water Commission.

The North Dakota State Water Commission will waive its cost-share policy to maintain proposed state funding for a piece of Minot’s flood protection project that recently received a federal grant.

The City of Minot was awarded $9.84 million through the Department of Defense’s Defense Community Infrastructure Program toward the northeast tieback floodwall, known as Phase MI-5D. The water commission voted on Thursday to keep the state’s cost-share at 65% of the nonfederally funded portion, rather than drop its share to 50%, as typically would occur under the commission’s cost-share policy. The decision means the $23.6 million project phase is eligible for $8.95 million from the state,

In August, the State Water Commission approved $84.5 million for the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project during the current biennium. This includes $13.15 million for Minot property acquisitions and $71.35 million for rural acquisitions, both at a 75% state cost-share. Construction and engineering activities are at a 65% cost-share.

The City of Minot also was approved for $93,750 toward $125,000 in design and other pre-construction costs on a low-head dam remediation project. The purpose of the safety project is to address the hydraulic roller effect present at the Minot Water Supply Dam, located near the Minot Water Treatment Plant. The dam on the Souris River serves as an emergency water supply backup. Full remediation work is estimated at about $1 million.

In total, the water commission approved $65.2 million in cost-share requests for several water supply projects, flood control, and general water projects from across the state Projects in Bottineau County, Rugby and McLean County were among them. All cost-share approvals by the commission are contingent upon available funding.

The Bottineau County Water Resource District received cost-share approval for its Stone Creek Lateral B project. The project involves engineering associated with a lateral to the existing Stone Creek drain. The lateral will include 3.6 miles of new agricultural drain construction within an existing assessment district.

The pre-construction cost is $45,000, of which $20,250 will come from the state’s 45% cost-share. Total project cost, with construction, is $508,680.

The project is located about 2.5 miles north of Kramer. Pre-construction efforts are to begin in November, with bidding in March and construction in August 2022.

The City of Rugby received cost-share approval to purchase and install two clarifier units at the city’s water treatment plant, which serves the city and provides bulk water to All Seasons Water Users District. The city is in the final phase of the plant’s upgrade.

The state’s 60% cost-share of $881,000 will reduce the amount of increase on a user’s bills from $1.39 per month to 55 cents per month to pay for the upgrade.

The project is to go to bid in March, with installation in May and completion in June 2023. The estimated total project cost is nearly $1.47 million.

McLean-Sheridan Rural Water District received cost-share approval amounting to $821,000 for pre-construction costs to provide water supply, reverse osmosis water treatment and reject-water disposal for the Blue Flint Ethanol Plant. The project replaces the water services currently supplied by the Coal Creek Power Plant.

Midwest AgEnergy, which owns the ethanol plant, asked the district to evaluate the feasibility of providing 750,000 gallons of water per day and a disposal water pipeline of 75,000 gallons a day.

The project involves replacement of Washburn’s Missouri River intake, an expansion of the city’s water treatment plant clarifiers; the addition of a booster station; an 11.55-mile, 12-inch transmission pipeline from Washburn to the plant; a two-million-gallon water storage reservoir; and a meter and control valve vault. It also includes a lift station, seven-mile, six-inch pipeline and discharge structure for a reverse osmosis treatment plant at the Missouri River.

The total project would cost $45.8 million, with the local share after the state’s 75% cost-share to be paid by Midwest AgEnergy.

A system study is scheduled for completion in November. The project could go to bid in April, with construction in June and completion in October 2023.

The largest cost-share approved Thursday was $47.5 million for the Red River Valley Water Supply Project. The project is managed by the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District and is owned by Lake Agassiz Water Authority. Since the state and local project was initiated in 2013, the state has invested over $117 million toward its advancement. Once completed, 35 communities and rural water systems in central and eastern North Dakota will potentially benefit from the project.