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The U. S. Department of Agriculture selected three watershed areas, Conewago Creek in Pennsylvania (pictured), Smith Creek in Virginia, and Upper Chester River in Maryland as part of the Chesapeake Showcase Watershed Project. The watershed project will utilize the collective energies of Federal, State, and local partners to help landowners and communities use their land in sustainable ways that do not harm water quality. If these watersheds are successfully restored they may become models for the six state

Watershed Operations - North Dakota NRCS

Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations Program

The Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) Program (Watershed Operations) includes the Flood Prevention Operations Program authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 (P.L. 78-534) and the provisions of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (P.L. 83-566). The Flood Control Act originally authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to install watershed improvement measures in 11 watersheds, also known as pilot watersheds, to reduce flood, sedimentation, and erosion damage; improve the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water; and advance the conservation and proper utilization of land. WFPO provides for cooperation between the Federal government and the States and their political subdivisions to prevent erosion, floodwater, and sediment damage; to further the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water; and to further the conservation and proper utilization of land in authorized watersheds.

Local Sponsors have made extensive use of the WFPO Program since the late 1950s in North Dakota.  The majority of projects have been targeted to flood damage reduction, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreation to date.  Dams, levees, and flood diversion channels are typical infrastructure components of these projects. 

The map BELOW shows the location of just the 50 dams constructed through the program to date in ND.
 

NRCS_ND_Dams_566 (1 MB)

 

Current / Recent North Dakota PL-566 Watershed Projects

Watershed Project Name

Rush River

North Branch Park River

Upper Maple River

Shortfoot Creek 

Tongue River

North Branch Antelope Creek      

Forest River         

Swan Creek

Upper Turtle River  Dam 10

Crooked Creek  

NRCS completed an analysis of watershed benefits from WFPO dams in 2018, and the 50 PL-566 dams in ND generate the following benefits:

  • $6.9 Million in Flood Damage Reduction annually for agriculture
  • $1.7 Million in Flood Damage Reduction annually for non-agriculture
  • $1.3 Million in Other Benefits annually for agriculture
  • $0.6 Million in Other Benefits annually for non-agriculture
  • Save 4.4 Million tons of soil from erosion
  • Save 660,000 tons of soil erosion annually
  • Provide numerous recreational opportunities for rural North Dakota
  • Provide 103,000 acre-feet of flood storage
  • Benefit approximately 200,000 people

National level benefits from all NRCS dams are summarized in this Fact Sheet.

National Watershed Benefits Fact Sheet (596.97 KB)

 

Watershed Operations Program Documents

General information on the Watershed Operations Program can be found at the links below:

WFPO Project Purposes (369.13 KB)
WFPO Sponsor Responsibilities (404.93 KB)
WFPO Cost Share Summary (932.83 KB)

 

Local government, district, or tribal organizations in North Dakota with an interest in participating in the NRCS PL-566 Watershed Program are encouraged to contact:

Christi Fisher
State Conservation Engineer
(701) 530-2091 
christi.fisher@usda.gov