little-dam-2

Little Dam Valley City

VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Work to make the Little Dam in Valley City safer will start later this year.

The city of Valley City was given some options, either to remove the dam or be a part of a project to eliminate the dangerous under tow and improve fishing opportunities in that area.

Valley City Administrator Gwen Crawford said the city selected the most cost effective option. She said eliminating the dam wasn’t a good idea but making the dam safer was sound advice for city officials.

Houston Engineering received the contract to design the project. It’s a joint venture between the Barnes County Water Resource District and the city of Valley City. More details about the cost share and timeline of the project are available below.

Houston Engineering spokesman Mike Opat said the schedule for the project is not certain at this point, as many of the permits required for the project are being held up by a backlog of permit applications with some of the reviewing agencies. Once the permits are issued, the Barnes County Water Resource District will be in a position to submit the final applications for funding, and once the funding is finalized they will be able to put the project out for bids for construction. He said at this point, we are hoping that permits will be issued this summer, with funding secured by early fall, and bidding completed by late fall. That would allow contractors to undertake construction activities in late fall and throughout the winter when flows in the Sheyenne River are typically lower. If all goes well, construction will be completed sometime in 2024.

The estimated cost of the project is approximately $1.2 million. He said the project sponsors are anticipating total cost-share assistance from the North Dakota State Water Commission of approximately $860,000. That funding would be in the form of a grant. The Barnes County Water Resource District has submitted requests to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service for funding to help facilitate fish passage improvements and improved fishing access at the site. The Barnes County Commission has committed up to a maximum of $340,000 toward the remaining local share of the project, with those dollars coming from funding the county received through the American Rescue Plan Act. The county has also requested a portion of their funding be used to promote improved fishing opportunities at the dam.

Opat said the City of Valley City’s contribution to the project is in the form of providing right-of-way needed for the project and they will be taking over all future maintenance responsibilities associated with the project. The Barnes County Water Resource District, the Barnes County Commission and the City of Valley City signed a Joint Powers Agreement that covered all of this earlier this year.

Little Dam Valley City