From the Sheyenne Diversion to the FM Area Diversion: Long-Term Projects Require Long-Term Commitment
When leaders in the Sheyenne River Watershed began planning flood protection improvements in West Fargo, North Dakota, in the 1980s, their goal was to reduce flood risk for their communities. They couldn’t have known how much the region would grow over the next 30 years or how valuable those investments would become.
The Sheyenne River Flood Control Project was the area’s first major demonstration that permanent flood protection could work. What began as a local effort to protect West Fargo, Horace and surrounding communities required sustained effort from community leaders, elected officials, residents, agencies, and technical experts to become a reality. Today, that legacy continues through the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion, one of the most ambitious flood risk reduction initiatives in North America, designed to reshape how water moves through the area and provide permanent flood protection for generations to come.
These two flood protection systems are a reminder that lasting infrastructure is built on more than engineering. Both projects also required collaboration, strong community leadership and a commitment to work through challenges over many years.
What the Sheyenne Project Made Possible
The Sheyenne River Flood Control Project was authorized in 1986, funded in 1989 and operational by 1992. The project included the Horace to West Fargo Diversion, the West Fargo Diversion, the Baldhill Dam 5-foot flood pool raise and construction of the Maple River Dam. The completed system includes two dams and more than 20 miles of diversion channels and protection levees.
This project has had an impact well beyond flood events. Without the Sheyenne flood protection system, there likely would have been little to no development south of Interstate 94. West Fargo and Horace’s growth also would have been significantly constrained, with the community potentially remaining close to its population of the early 1990s.
The Work We Do Today Matters for Years to Come
More than 30 years after the Sheyenne Diversion flood protection system became operational, its impact can still be seen across the region. The Sheyenne system protects more than 13,000 acres and approximately 50,000 people from overland flooding and has protected West Fargo and Horace from major floods in 1993, 1997, 2009, 2010 and 2011, along with many additional moderate floods.
That kind of certainty matters. Flood protection helps communities reduce the potential cost of disasters, but it also affects the everyday cost of living and doing business. Residents and businesses in protected areas may avoid thousands of dollars in required flood insurance costs, while communities gain greater certainty when planning new development and infrastructure.
The value of that protection can also be seen in the scale of development that has occurred south of Interstate 94, including areas that were once vulnerable to flooding. Protected properties in that area had a combined assessed value of approximately $3.6 billion in 2024. In addition, the value of new and existing properties north of Interstate 94 had a combined assessed value of approximately $2.9 billion in 2024. The potential value of that investment is even clearer with the FM Area Diversion, which once fully operational, is estimated to prevent approximately $194.5 million in annual stormwater and flood damages across the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area.*
The more than $3 billion Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion project continues the flood protection legacy on a much larger scale. The project brings together Moore Engineering and more than 50 organizations, agencies, utilities and other partners to provide permanent, reliable flood protection for over 235,000 people across the region.
As construction continues on the FM Area Diversion, the region is making another long-term investment in flood protection that will reduce risk, support growth and serve communities for generations to come. The project is expected to be operational in 2027, marking another major step toward permanent, reliable flood protection for the region.
Experience That Spans Decades
At Moore, we’ve been a trusted infrastructure partner to to communities across the region for more than 65 years. Having worked on both the Sheyenne River Flood Control Project and the FM Area Diversion, we’ve seen how much can change over decades and how important it is to plan beyond the immediate project.
For community leaders considering major infrastructure investments, these projects offer a practical reminder to dream big, work with an experienced team, collaborate with the people and agencies affected by the project, and keep working through the challenges that inevitably come with large scale projects.
The full value of an infrastructure investment may not be clear when construction is complete. Sometimes, it takes decades to see how engineering investments impact where people live, where businesses grow, and how communities are strengthened for the future.
*Estimate reflects existing infrastructure and does not include future development.