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Storm Sewer Lid Station Installations City of Fargo BACKGROUND The Gty of Fargo is located in the Red River Valley. The topography of the Valley and City is very flat and the river is prone to spring flooding associated with snowmelt runoff. The Gty's 60 storm sewer oulla1ls that discharge into the Red River must be protected from backup during flooding conditions on the Red River. Backup protection consists of installing sluice gates or flap gates on storm sewers and lift stations to provide storm sewer capacity during high water conditions. Projects Since 1990, the City has completed installation of eight storm sewer lift stations. Each lift station was approved individually for HMGP funding based on the flood protection benefits these lift stations provide. These eight lift stations are located as follows: 18thAvenue North at Elm Street 8th Avenue North at Oak Street 32nd Avenue South at 11th Street Milwaukee Road at 40thAvenue 25th Street at Rose Coulee 52nd Avenue South at University Drive 32nd Street at 47th Avenue Southwest 38th Street Southwest at Drain 27 Total $ 70,000 $ 70,000 $160,000 $ 74,000 $ 53,000 $102,000 $ 84,000 $87,000 $700,000 The Gty is also currently working on the installation of three additional storm lift stations under the HMGP with completion scheduled for mid-1999. BENEFITS The Gty has invested heavily in storm sewer backup prevention and pumping stations. Why is preventing storm sewer flooding so Important in Fargo? There are two basic reasons: a) In some locations, land adjacent to the river is slightly higher than the land further to the east. This high ground along the river's edge generally prevents surface flood waters from inundating the lower property. Without backup protection the flood waters will backflow through the storm sewer coming out of the inlets and flooding all low-lying property to a level similar to the river level. b) The second main reason to keep the storm system as dry as possible is to prevent possible transfers from the storm sewer to the sanitary sewer system. A flooded storm sewer tends to leak at its joints. Since the streets are underlain witha maze of different utility pipes, storm sewers and sanitary sewers often cross near each other, particularly sewer service connections to homes and businesses. Water leaking out of a flooded storm sewer can leak into a sanitary sewer service or main at quite rapid rates causing sanitary sewer flooding.