May 21, 2025: MB Branch: Hydraulic Model for the Fargo-Moorhead Area Flood Diversion Project

Time: May 21, 2025 12pm CST

Presenter Name: Shaun Kenny

Position Title: Senior Hydrotechnical Engineer, Hatch

Presentation description: 

Similar to Winnipeg, the City of Fargo in North Dakota is subject to flooding from the Red River. The Fargo Moorhead Diversion Project currently under construction includes an approximately 50 km long Diversion Channel that will convey flood waters around Fargo to avoid damaging infrastructure within the city. This project’s conceptual design was developed by the USACE, but final design and construction is part of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) process, where Hatch participated in a Joint Venture with other design firms working for a group of construction contractors.

As part of the project, a comprehensive HEC-RAS model that spans a 250 km reach from upstream of Fargo to the Canada/US border was developed to be used in the design, and to assess project impacts. The HEC-RAS model was established as a critical part of the PPP process, where the project’s Technical Requirements set various criteria directly related to the HEC-RAS model outputs. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the project’s components, and will focus on the HEC-RAS model used for design.