The Royce Files

Lots of things to discusss. So let's get on with this digest. Red River Basin Flood Spring has finally sprung upon the landscape on the Great Plains. The always anticipated spring snow storm never arrived. The flood waters continue to recede in Red River Valley. As of yesterday I could see most of the paths by the river. This by no means will abate the continuing debate concerning future flood control. It was just heating up as the crest arrived a few weeks ago. A North Dakota diversion seems very popular. It gets more good press then a Minnesota diversion which the Corps of Engineers have stated would be the most cost effective solution. Neither solution seemed to answer adequately the concerns of pushing floodwaters further north . Our hydrology correspondant, DJ George, has advocated some form of water retention for years and not only because of flooding but to increase available water sources in the Valley. U.S. Representative Colin Peterson seemed to echo DJ ...

For now the hard flood work is over. Some residents are even removing dikes. A year ago, I could not have said that. Fargo was watching over the largest historic crest and digging out of a spring snowstorm. It was surreal sitting out a flood and a snowstorm last year This year preparation and planning paid off. Sandbagging ceased before I even had a chance to volunteer. The only real work I did was pray. I believe I wrote in an earlier post that the 2010 crest was almost a non-event although it happened to be the 7th highest. The weather was pleasant, people were flocking to the Main Ave bridge, you might have well packed a picnic and welcomed the crest to town. Across the river, Moorhead was better prepared than last year. One of our correspondents, Phil, who lives on the river didn't have to call in privateers to dike his home this year. The city dropped off sandbags and a busload of volunteers and got it done. I'm sure Phil celebrated with a brew.  I'm sure it wasn...

It was turning out to be a remarkable week in Fargo. The temps were high, the sun was out, the water was receding. All was well. That was until 12:21 AM on April 1st when a torrent of rushing water entered the Red River at Wahpeton. Within hours waters engulfed the unsuspecting cities on the Red River. Regional hydrologists surmise a channel of the Laurentian aquifier deep below the earth collapsed due to recent seismic activity. Off the record, government officials blame it on the alignment of the full moon. "I am not surprised.Crazy stuff happens during a full moon." an official who did not want to be named stated. For now the city remains a veritable natural water park. Fargo is considering charging admission in order to pay for a diversion which will include a wild rapids ride to the west of town. Regional planners are hopeful the diversion and water park solution will bring more vacationers. The city of Centralia plans on holding a sandbaggin...

The Red River finally crested at 36.99 on Sunday afternoon. With the temperature rather warm (about 50 F), quite a few Fargoans greeted the crest in downtown. It was nearly a no event even though this crest ranks in the top 10. Advanced forecast had predicted a crest near 38. At noon yesterday the river appeared to be a bit more than 2 feet below the Island Park dike downtown. So CNN would probably declare "Flood Over" and remove their equipment from town. However, I did nott see CNN this year. Preparations for this year were well in advance of the crest. Sandbagging opperations stopped 5 days ago so I never took the chance to volunteer since I was planning on doing that the end of last week. Now the watchers are on duty ensuring flood protection holds. I was out west of the Go this weekend and saw a considerable amount of overland flooding until before Oriska. This land is pretty flat and when the snows melt it just heads o...

In a little over 24 hours the Red River of the North will reach major flood stage in the 'Go. That is about 30 feet above its normal elevation. Forecasts thus far predict a crest on the weekend at just above 38 feet. This of course could change, like we saw last year. Thus far, both cities straddling the river have been amassing sand bags since 2 weeks ago. Salvation Army disaster relief units are in town parked not far from my home. Then this previous Sunday Bethel Evangelical Free Church hosted a pre-flood prayer meeting. Bridges have closed. Now the call for volunteers has gotten louder. Most colleges in the area are on spring break. The sand bag convoys have begun to run down the major thoroughfares. It seems normal now albeit a bit warmer than the previous fight. So we are on the brink waiting to hear whether it will get worse. Fargo flood information site .