Fargo-Moorhead Update: Water Quality Sampling Resumes

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, in cooperation with the Flood Diversion Board of Authority, will continue its water quality field surveys for the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project starting this week.

The primary objective of collecting the samples is to analyze water quality within the project area during pre‐project, construction and post‐construction periods to assess river response to the Fargo-Moorhead project, said USACE.

The U.S. Geological Survey, or USGS, will conduct the surveys, on behalf of USACE, and the North Dakota Department of Public Health will process the samples.

In its sampling, the USGS is collecting data on water temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH level and turbidity, as well as conducting lab analysis for major ions, metals, nutrients pesticides and bacteria in the water.

Starting last year and continuing into the next year, they will are collecting samples at 10 river gages, as well as additional times during flooding. After the initial three years, USACE will work with the USGS and other federal water quality experts to determine when and where continued sampling will take place.

The samples will be collected through the next few months from 10 water quality gages located in Halstad, Georgetown, Harwood, below Mapletown, Fargo, Hickson, Kindred and Abercrombie.