On October 12, Houston Engineering, Inc. (HEI) accepted the Project of the Year award at the North Dakota Water and Pollution Control Conference for our work on the 4th Street South Flood Protection Project in Fargo, ND. The award was bestowed by the North Dakota Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) for communities with populations greater than 5,000.
Projects were selected based on several criteria, including good construction techniques, safety, community relations, protecting the environment, unusual accomplishments, and additional conditions deemed important to the public works agency.
About the Project
In recent years, Fargo faced grueling fights against flood events. The 4th Street South neighborhood stood out immediately as one of the areas warranting better permanent protection, not only because of its dense residential population but also the presence of Fargo’s water treatment plant.
The project began in anticipation of updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). The City of Fargo was required to verify that the Provisionally Accredited Levee would be certifiable again with the new flood maps. However, an analysis revealed the current levee was too low, unstable, and penetrated by several old water plant pipes at its core. In order to retain its certification, the City retained HEI to identify and design improvements.
As a result of the project, properties were kept out of the floodplain preventing them from being subjected to paying flood insurance, continuing to save residents hundreds of dollars per year.
