Flood-Weary Fargo, ND, Lobbies for Permanent Fix Filling and laying sandbags has become a civic rite of spring in Fargo, where the swollen Red River has caused major flooding in three of the past four years. With the region finally thawing out from another unusually snowy winter and the river again rising, local leaders are using this year's communitywide campaign to build support for a 36-mile canal that would steer the floodwater around Fargo and neighboring Moorehead, Minn., and fix the area's nagging problem once and for all. But the plan, which has been kicked around for a few years, has drawn strong opposition from upstream farmers, homeowners and businesses, who don't want the diversion channel carving through their communities. They say it's nearly $2 billion price tag is a waste of money, and North Dakota legislators have balked at committing any of the state's money until the federal government gives the OK and puts in money of its own. Dennis Walaker, who has spent much of his five years as Fargo's mayor dealing with the flooding problem, said there's no sense in delaying the project, which would take an estimated 10 years to complete. He said the time and money spent trying to stave off flooding every year has become "an almost ridiculous process," and that the canal is the only way to protect the Fargo metropolitan area from catastrophic floods like the one in 2009. "To say that this gets easier," said Walaker, referring to the city's flood fighting prowess, "for some of us it's getting old. We need the diversion to go through. Fargo dealt with major flooding for three straight years, starting in 2009. The first year was the worst, with the Red River hitting a record high-water mark of nearly 41 feet, or 23 feet above flood stage. Thousands of people had to leave home for higher ground and about 100 homes were badly damaged or rendered unlivable. The 2010 flood was the seventh-highest on record and the 2011 flood was the fourth-highest. This year's peak is expected to reach at least 38 feet, which would make it the fifth-highest flood in history. When city and county leaders christened the opening of Sandbag Central earlier this month, Cass County Commission chairman Vern Bennett compared the annual flood fight to a sporting event. "We gather here to compete once again against a very dangerous team, whose members are called Red, Wild, Maple, Rush and Sheyenne," he said, rattling off names of area rivers to volunteers who would go on to fill a million sandbags in eight days. We're ready, but this does not guarantee a win. In order to guarantee a win, we need to have permanent flood protection. Twenty miles south, which is upstream on the north-flowing Red River, Mike Bice proudly displays a sign outside of his popular bar as a counter to what he sees the "giant pep rally" being held downstream to build support for the project. It reads, "CELEBRATING 41 YEARS WITH NO FARGO DAM," referring to the project by the derisive nickname opponents have given it. The sign isn't far off: Bice's Knickerbocker Liquor Locker is in an area that would be flooded to spare the Fargo metropolitan area downstream, where about 200,000 people live. Like many opponents, Bice thinks a series of smaller, less costly anti-flood measures would better serve Red River communities. It's kind of like a football game. We would rather grind it out and score touchdowns than throw a Hail Mary at the end," Bice said.