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Blanchard- Norman Drain Number 23-40

Located in Blanchard and Norman townships. Originally there were two separate drains; Blanchard Drain Number 23 was built in approximately 1917 while Norman Drain Number 40 was built in 1965-66. The assessment areas were combined as one drain in 1983.

Length: 6.5 miles

There have been several cleanouts on both channels over the years. Work was done on the north side of Section 15 of Norman Township to facilitate the safe removal of water.

Cleanouts have also been performed on the Blanchard Drain Number 23

It was suggested that a right-of-way be secured in the natural coulee between the drains and be straightened out and shaped to fit the designs of the two original channels.

There were some grassed spillways on the Norman Channel that needed to be protected. A few years before, an attempt was made to farm some of it. It returned to grass after those involved were informed of the need to protect this area.

This drain approached the age at which the structures such as tubes and risers had a tendency to start to come apart in the welds and then self-destruct.

This drain also had some black walls made of wood behind a tube and risers. They too approached the age where they may have failed due to decay. Blanchard 23 was cleaned in 2004. Norman 40 was cleaned in 2001. A lateral was considered in Section 8 in 2005. It was constructed in 2006. Norman 40 needs work to confine water in the channel.

• Section 12 of Norman was cleaned in 2015.
• Reassessed in 2015.

Bloomfield Drain Number 46

T-145-N R-51-W

Bloomfield Drain Number 46 was constructed in 1976.

Length: 3.25 miles

This is a relatively new drain, having been constructed in 1976. This was a rather controversial project, but after construction, it has worked well with minimal upkeep.

There were two minor problem areas: One was the outlet; the farmer tilled too close to the rock rip-rap and an erosion problem began. It has since been repaired. The other was near the 1/4 line in Section 25. Rocks were put there to make a field crossing. This caused water to back up and stand in the drain. They have since been removed.

• Drain cleaned in 2002.
• The entire drain was cleaned in 2015.
• A culvert at the outlet was replaced in 2015.
• Reassessed in 2015.

Borke Drain Number 15

Borke Drain Number 15 originally was built in 1907-08. It was rebuilt as a part of the Elm River Watershed Project as a floodway around 1959-60.

Length: 2.5 miles

A cleanout was performed in 1985.

Work has been necessary on the outlet end quite frequently. The river floods and then deposits dirt in the channel, forcing the water over the township road. Beavers have been a reoccurring problem in the culvert that carried the river under the township road at this location.

• A drop culvert at the bottom was replaced in 2002. Cleaned in 2005. Some work was done in 2010.
• A culvert was replaced at the top of the drain in 2015.
• Culvert work in the NE 1/4 of Section 22 was done in 2016.

Brokke Drain Number 30

Brokke Drain Number 30 was built in 1948.

Length: 6.25 miles

It has been a troublesome drain for some time. For some reason, it had very steep side slopes and a very flat grade. Several attempts were made to correct the problem. A redesign and reconstruction were necessary. There was a washout at the end of the drain that needed attention.

An attempt was made some years ago to combine this drain with two other drains into a common outlet but was turned down by the land patrons.

The drain was reconstructed in 2003 with three drops at the bottom and the addition of 2 miles to the west. Bottom drops caused some problems. FEMA repaired the bottom drop in 2009. FEMA paid to repair the other two drops in 2011. A lateral along County Road 4 was constructed in 2001.

• Repair work was completed by FEMA in 2009.

Burke Drain Number 16

Burke Drain Number 16 was built in 1913-17. Apparently the fields were wet and it took some time to complete.

This drain was cleaned out on several occasions. Ever since the bridge under the highway was replaced with large culverts there was a problem there going south. The water would leave the channel for about half a mile then return and, with it, sediment that would slow the water even more.

Beaver dams were causing problems in the river at the outlet of the drain.

In 1997, the drain was redesigned from the highway, south. The spoil was put up as a low-level dike in an attempt to keep the water in the channel. The culverts in the field approach on the 1/4 line were given more capacity.

• The inlet culverts installed south of Highway 200A were cleaned in 2005.
• A road project replaced the culverts under 200A in 2015.

Buxton Drain Number 68

This project consists of 6.5 miles of newly created legal assessment drain along Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 in Buxton Township, and Section 19 in Stavanger Township. The project outlets into a natural watercourse at Interstate 29 in the NE 1/4 of Section 19 in Stavanger Township. The natural watercourse is the beginning of Stavanger-Belmont Drain Number 52, also a legal drain in Traill County. The channel design consists of a 10-foot bottom width and 4:1 side slopes with a channel slope of 0.07% for the majority of the mile and a 0.35% slope at the outlet. The project culvert crossings are designed to allow 0.5 feet of headloss for a five-year summer rain event based on the current USGS regression equations. The crossings will meet North Dakota Stream Crossings Standards as defined in the Administrative Code. The project will incorporate 2 sheet pile drop structures to minimize the amount of excavation required.

The main purpose of the project is to improve the stability of the existing township roadbed; however, the secondary benefit of the project is to provide a better drainage benefit for the adjacent ag land. The project's impact on agricultural lands is positive due to the more efficient drainage provided by the project.

Another purpose of the project is to alleviate summer rainfall flooding problems in the project watershed. Because the project will flow into a system designed to accept the flow from this watershed, the impact on existing flooding problems within the project watershed will be negligible. Further, the project incorporates designed breakouts at the end of each mile of the channel. This allows the extremely high channel flows to break out into storage provided by adjacent lands. When the high flows recede, water then enters back into the channel via culverts. This design breakout lowers the peak flows and water surface elevations in the channel downstream, providing additional flood protection to downstream landowners.

• There are no new ponds or sloughs being drained by the project.