A RIVER RUNS NORTH Managing an International River Second Edition By Jay A. Leitch and Gene Krenz Red River Basin Commission May 2013 Copyright 2013 by the Red River Basin Commission The Red River Basin Commission (RRBC) is a group of people working together to achieve common goals for water protection and management within the Red River Basin. Copyright 1993 by the Red River Water Resources Council The Red River Water Resources Council is a nonprofi t corporation dedicated to water management coordination in the Red River of the North Basin. The council serves as a forum for the exchange of information among the states of Minnesota and North Dakota and the province of Manitoba on matters related to the wise use of water and related land resources. Second Printing 1998 Second Edition 2013 Additional Funding Provided by North Dakota State Water Commission Manitoba Water Stewardship ii Table of Contents Page Preface (Second Edition) Preface (First Edition) Acknowledgements Foreword Chapter 1 The Red River: A System Intact 1 Chapter 2 The Red River: A System in Transition 11 Chapter 3 Soil and Water Resources 21 Chapter 4 A Place to Relax: River-Based Recreation 31 Chapter 5 The “Too Much” Problem: Flooding 39 Chapter 6 Flooding, 1997 to 2011 51 Chapter 7 Drainage: A Continuing Issue 67 Chapter 8 The “Not Enough” Problem 85 Chapter 9 The Management System 95 Chapter 10 Case Study: Devils Lake - A Closed Basin 115 Chapter 11 Divergent Perspectives 125 Epilogue 133 Glossary 135 List of Figures Figure 1-1 Glacial Lake Agassiz 2 Figure 1-2 Outline of Red River Valley 3 Figure 1-3 Red River Basin (excluding the Assiniboine River Basin) 3 Figure 1-4 Major Subbasins 4 Figure 2-1 Original Selkirk Grant 12 Figure 2-2 Selkirk Settlements 1812-1870 12 Figure 2-3 Red River Cart Trails 15 Figure 2-4 Railroads in the Red River Area 1869-1878 16 Figure 3-1 Land Forms in the Red River Basin 22 Figure 3-2 The Hydrologic Cycle 22 Figure 3-3 Routes Precipitation Can Take 23 Figure 3-4 Average Annual Precipitation (inches) 23 Figure 3-5 Routes Runoff Can Take 24 Figure 3-6 Stream Gaging Stations 25 Figure 3-7 Average Annual Discharge of Selected Subbasins (acre-feet) 26 Figure 3-8 Hydrograph: Red River at Fargo, ND 26 Figure 3-9 Routes Soil Zone Water Can Take 27 Figure 5-1 Floodplain Characteristics as an Infl uence on Flood Durations (Main Stem and Tributary) 41 Figure 5-2 Structural Flood Damage Reduction Measures 45 Figure 5-3 Nonstructural Flood Damage Reduction Measures 48 Page Figure 6-1 Hydrographs of the 1997, 2009, and 2011 Floods in Fargo 54 Figure 6-2 Red River Cross-Section at Fargo 55 iii Figure 6-3 Downtown Grand Forks—the Photograph Seen Around the World 55 Figure 6-4 Hydrographs of the 1997, 2009, and 2011 Floods in Grand Forks 60 Figure 7-1 Optimal Timing and Adequate Scale of Retention Flatten Out the Flood Hydrograph in a Small Watershed 77 Figure 7-2 Runoff Timing and Scale are Crucial to Reducing Flood Crests in Large Watersheds During Low Frequency Events 78 Figure 8-1 Water Use in the Red River Basin 86 Figure 9-1 Watershed Districts (Minnesota) 99 Figure 9-2 Water Resource Districts (North Dakota) 101 Figure 9-3 Red River Joint Water Resource District (North Dakota) 101 Figure 9-4 Joint Water Resource Boards (North Dakota) 103 Figure 9-5 Conservation Districts (Manitoba) 102 Figure 10-1 Location of the Devils Lake Subbasin 116 Figure 10-2 The Devils Lake Main Chain Complex 117 Figure 10-3 Water Surface Elevation, Devils Lake, North Dakota 121 List of Tables Table 4-1 Red River Dams 32 Table 4-2 A Sampling of Red River Activities 33 Table 5-1 Major Historical and Recorded Floods on the Main Stem of the Red River Through 1993 44 Table 6-1 Annual Precipitation, 1993 - 2010 Fargo, ND, and Grand Forks, ND 51 Table 6-2 Top 10 Recorded Flood Stages in Fargo and Grand Forks 52 Table 8-1 Earth’s Freshwater Resources 87 iv Preface (Second Edition) A River Runs North was fi rst published in 1993 and updated with an addendum in 1998. By popular re- quest, this Second Edition does the following: • Updates facts and fi gures where appropriate, • Incorporates the 1998 addendum into the main body, • Adds a chapter on recreation, and • Adds a chapter on recent fl ooding (1993 to 2011). Every attempt was made to retain original text from 1993 and 1998. However, no attempt was made to distinguish between original and updated material. The subject matter coverage in this book is not intended to be comprehensive. The intent is to introduce readers to Red River issues, including divergent perspectives where appropriate. Readers are encouraged to refer to other sources for more in-depth coverage. Additionally, A River Runs North, Second Edition , is available online at www.redriverbasincommission. org. The online version contains numerous “hot links” that readers can click to access some of the many other useful sources of information on the Red River of the North. v Preface (First Edition) The watershed of the Red River of the North encompasses an area approximately the size of Pennsylva- nia and occupies parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Manitoba. Through its center and across the fertile, fl at bed of former glacial Lake Agassiz, the Red River meanders lazily northward. No, it is not the same Red River lonesome cowboys sang about around their campfi res, nor is it familiar to many who live elsewhere. But its history is as tempestuous and colorful as that Texas river or others like it, and about its fi rst inhabitants and its intrepid pioneers songs may yet be sung. The pages which follow in the chapters of this book are intended to convey images and provide glimps- es of an evolving Red River Basin and to help the reader acquire a clearer vision of not only how the basin has changed but of what it has become. If the book succeeds in making a point, it will be simply that the basin is always changing and is always more than meets the eye. The basin is, like the book, something quite different for each and every reader. It is the sum of what we both know and feel. .a combination of things perceived. This book is dedicated to helping those who read it capture a clearer understanding, a sharper percep- tion of the Red River watershed and how it is managed. More than a few people helped make the book a reality. At the top of the list is the board of directors of the Red River Water Resources Council who saw the need for such a book. The current board consists of Ron Harnack, John Wells, Kent Lokkesmoe, David A. Sprynczynatyk, Francis Schwindt, and Gene Krenz. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Larry Whitney of the Manitoba Water Resources Branch, whose insightful comments on various drafts proved invalu- able. Larry Knudtson left no stone unturned in searching for missing information, and Melissa Miller and Brenda Bosworth contributed their editorial skills, artistic talents, and computer wizardry throughout. vi Acknowledgements The authors want to thank those who made this Second Edition possible. First, thanks to Bob Backman and Chuck Fritz, who saw the ongoing need for this type of book and encouraged others to support it fi nancially. Second, the North Dakota State Water Commission and Manitoba Water Stewardship who provided fi nancial support. Reviewers, Gerry Van Amburg, Andrea Travnicek, Kent M. Lokkesmoe, Lee Klapprodt, and Linda Weispfenning. Technical support - Patrick Fridgen, Mike Noone, and Sheila Fryer, North Dakota State Water Commis- sion; Julie Goehring and Kathy Spanjer, Red River Basin Commission. Of course, no one but the authors are responsible for the content of this book. We take full responsibility for any remaining glitches, any errors or omissions, and any content that any readers fi nd objectionable. vii viii Foreword A river is really the summation of the whole valley. To think any river as nothing but water is to ignore the greater part of it. Hal Borland from Beyond Your Doorstep: a Handbook to the Country 1962, 1990, Lyons Press. Rivers are innate to the planet Earth, having been here since water fi rst condensed in the planet-forming process. Over the millennia, rivers have been a force in shaping the land surface and have evolved into complex ecosystems that support a myriad of different organisms. Rivers have always been important to humans. Certainly, they helped to expand civilization and, more recently, have been important for eco- nomic development around the world. Rivers play a prominent role in our literature, art, and music. Scott Slovic has said (in an editorial review of T. S. McMillin’s The Meaning of Rivers ) “Rivers not only wind their way across the American continent, but course through American literature and art.” I know as a youngster I was transported into another world by the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Recently, during a church service, I was stirred by singing the beautiful African American spiritual, Peace Like a River . And, there are literally thousands of artistic depictions of rivers. One of my favorites is Gordon Monten- son’s woodcut titled The Red River . Most of us know something about the recognized, great rivers of the world. Rivers, such as the Nile, Amazon, or closer to home, the Mississippi, have been part of our education. According to the Minnesota and North Dakota school standards, rivers are typically studied in the fourth grade.