Perceived Social, Economic and Environmental Costs/Benefits of a Fargo-Moorhead Diversion Plan

Abstract

Flooding has long been an issue in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota. Recently, leaders in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area called for a permanent solution to the annual flooding woes. This solution took the form of a proposed diversion channel, an extensive ditch designed to divert a portion of the Red River west of the metro in order to lower river levels in the urban core during flooding events. This project seeks to understand how residents in the Fargo-Moorhead community perceive the costs and benefits of the diversion plan when compared to current strategies that are in place. The purpose of the research is to understand how various flood mitigation strategies are perceived by local residents and whether or not positive and negative perceptions are a result of place-based linkages to different parts of the metropolitan area.