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Bylin Dam Rehabiliation

Sponsor: Walsh County Water Resource District

PRELIMINARY DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL WATERSHED PLAN-EA

NORTH BRANCH FOREST RIVER WATERSHED DAM #1 (BYLIN DAM)

The purpose of the project is to bring North Branch Forest River Watershed Dam No. 1 (Bylin Dam) into compliance with current NRCS and North Dakota Department of Water Resources dam performance, design, and safety standards. The need for the project is to improve dam safety to minimize risk for downstream residents, to mitigate flooding issues for the area downstream of the dam, and to provide recreation opportunities at the dam site in the future.

The preferred alternative is the structural rehabilitation of the dam to a high-hazard designation. The alternative consists of construction of an auxiliary spillway channel that is lined with articulated concrete blocks (ACB) to prevent erosion and failure of the spillway. A newly constructed principal spillway riser tower and a principal spillway conduit will be installed. The existing principal spillway riser tower will be removed, and the existing principal spillway conduit will be abandoned. The downstream embankment slope will be flattened, and the addition of a new chimney filter and foundation drain will be implemented to address seepage concerns.

Total Installation Cost:                 $10,660,000

Federal (NRCS) Contribution:       $7,449,250

Bylin Dam Rehabiliation

Current Status

An initial public scoping meeting was held March 6, 2020 and a follow-up meeting was held February 8, 2022. The Preliminary Draft Watershed Plan-EA was submitted to NRCS National Water Management Center for technical review and comments were returned early 2023. Currently NRCS and Houston Engineering are making technical edits to the plan. Following edits, the revised plan will be submitted to NRCS National Headquarters for review. After the Draft Plan-EA is completed a public meeting, formal public comment period, and final agency and tribal consultations will be conducted.