BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — With North Dakota in the midst of a prolonged dry spell not seen in years, officials are promoting a decades-long idea of piping Missouri River water across the state to central and eastern North Dakota to combat future drought conditions there, especially in Fargo.
A groundbreaking is planned Tuesday near Carrington to mark the start of pipeline construction for the Red River Valley Water Supply Project, a more than $1 billion project that still faces huge funding and legal hurdles before even a drop of water from the river can be tapped for emergencies during an extended drought.
According to Kimberly Cook, a spokeswoman for the project, the project would draw water from the Missouri River south of Washburn, where it would be sent 167 miles through a 72-inch diameter buried steel pipe, at a rate of more than 74,000 gallons a minute. It would empty near Cooperstown into the Sheyenne River and ultimately spill into the north-flowing Red River.
The North Dakota Legislature this year appropriated $50 million toward the project and $30 million two years ago. The money has allowed some work to be done at the intake structure near Washburn, the discharge structure near Cooperstown, and a little more than a mile of pipeline placement south of Carrington.
Backers have set a goal of completing the project by the end of the decade.
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