Upper Sheyenne River Joint Water Resource Board to host public meetings

The Upper Sheyenne River Joint Water Resource Board (Joint Board) is hosting four public meetings which are part of a Sheyenne River Riparian Corridor Management Study. The Joint Board is a political subdivision of the State of North Dakota and is comprised of nine-member counties that are part of the Upper Sheyenne River Basin, including Nelson, Steele, Barnes, Griggs, Benson, Pierce, Stutsman, Eddy and Sheridan Counties.

The scope of the study encompasses the mainstem Sheyenne River from the upstream headwaters in Sheridan County downstream to Lake Ashtabula in Barnes County. “This study is phase 2 of a comprehensive water quality assessment of the Upper Sheyenne River watershed,” says Tor Bergstrom, Joint Board Chairman. “Phase 1 was completed in 2013 and included an assessment of water quality conditions of the Sheyenne River above Lake Ashtabula and its tributaries. Phase 1 also included the development of a non-point source pollution watershed model, which was used to identify possible sources of nutrient and sediment runoff in the watershed,” says Bergstrom. The phase 1 project was funded through the North Dakota Department of Health’s (NDDoH) Section 319 Non point Source Pollution Management Program in partnership with the Joint Board, the Wells County Soil Conservation District and the Griggs County Soil Conservation District.

The Joint Board has retained Barr Engineering Co. to conduct the study, which is an erosion and sediment assessment of the Upper Sheyenne River Riparian Corridor. This assessment will identify potential erosion, sedimentation and floodplain connectivity issues along the Upper Sheyenne River mainstem. The study is being conducted in cooperation with the NDDoH, again with Section 319 Non-point Source Pollution Management Program funding. Bergstrom says, “Such an assessment of the river doesn’t currently exist. This study will help us identify critical areas along the Sheyenne River corridor for future restoration and monitoring.”

“Having the funding assistance from the Health Department’s Section 319 program has made the study possible for the Joint Board. The study will provide us a regional overview of the riparian corridor in the basin,” says Joint Board Vice Chairman Jerry Hieb. “This Study is important as it establishes a baseline for the river that will allow us to measure change over time,” says Hieb.

To help in directing further field data collection which will be conducted by Barr Engineering Co. this spring and summer, the Joint Board is seeking public input on the study by hosting four public meetings with following details. One of the public meetings will be held Tuesday, March 20 at Ostby Hall in Sheyenne at 2 p.m.

“The purpose of these public meetings is to share current progress on the project and to seek public input on identifying potential sites where field data will be collected at channel cross-sections along the river,” says Ben Varnson, Nelson County Water Resource District Chairman and Joint Board Manager. “The project delivery team will require access to private property to complete field data collection at the proposed cross-sections. The Joint Board, with assistance from the local water boards, is seeking public cooperation to secure this access. The field data collection task will be completed during open water conditions this summer,” says Varnson.

For more information on this study and the public meetings, contact Ben Varnson, Joint Board Manager, at 701-270-0732, Tor Bergstrom, Joint Board Chairman, at 701-789-0879, Jerry Hieb, Joint Board Vice Chairman, at 701-845-0683 or Mandar Nangare with Barr Engineering Co. at 701-255-5474.