Dike Watchers
By Dan Gunderson
April 11, 1997

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The Red River in Fargo-Moorhead has set a new record, exceeding the previous mark set in 1969. The river is expected to crest some time in the next 24 hours and begin a slow drop back to normal over the next couple of weeks. That's good news for the area, but hundreds of people still must watch dikes and pumps 24-hours-a-day to avoid catastrophe. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson reports.

TRAVEL ALONG THE RIVER IN FARGO-MOORHEAD, and everywhere you run into exhausted but slightly giddy people. They feel they've won the war, but days of small battles lie ahead before they can relax.

SFX: WATER TRICKLING

Water is trickling through a manhole about a half block from the river in Moorhead. It's calm now, but just hours ago a torrent of water leaking through a floodgate designed to keep the river out threatened to flood Moorhead's sewer system.

Wayne Wise was one of the workers who helped dump sandbags down the manhole until the leak stopped.

THIS WAS A BIG PROBLEM. (MANIACAL LAUGH.) WE HAD EVERYBODY FROM EVERY DEPARTMENT LOOKING FOR THIS. WE THOUGHT WATER WAS COMING IN BASEMENTS. MAYBE A MANHOLE ALONG THE RIVER WAS TAKING WATER. WE WERE LOOKING FOR ALL THOSE THINGS. WE WERE DAMN LUCKY WE FOUND IT.

Four large pumps sit idle here now. Thursday night they were pulling five thousand gallons of water a minute out of this manhole and spewing is back into the river.

Like many Moorhead employees, Wayne Wise has lost track of how many hours he's worked in the last few days..

WE GOT PEOPLE ON 24-HOURS-A-DAY. YA KNOW WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS AND SAYS THEY GOT A PROBLEM, YA GOTTA GO LOOK AND SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS - AND SOMETIMES THERE AIN'T A PROBLEM AND SOMETIMES THERE IS, BUT YOU'RE OBLIGATED TO GO LOOK.

SFX: PUMP RUNNING.

A couple miles away a pump the size of a small car sits idling next to a five-foot earthen dike.

FADE TO WATER.

The pump is connected to a huge plastic hose. A hundred feet away it's spouting a steady stream of river water from the sewer system back into the river.

Steve Schlot walks up to watch the pump. He lives nearby and says this pump is keeping water from coming up through the sewer into his basement.

I WANNA MAKE SURE IT KEEPS GOIN'. THIS IS A GOOD SIGHT.

Schlot is using his lunch break to check the pump - and his basement. He says because of this crisis he knows neighbors he's lived by for years but never met.

IT TOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO BRING EVERYBODY OUT AND GET TO MEET EVERYBODY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND EVERYTHING. IF THERE'S BEEN ANYTHING GOOD IN THIS, IT'S THAT IT'S BROUGHT EVERYBODY TOGETHER AND...

PUMP FADES

About a block down the earthen dike, Todd Bratlen stands on the dike looking out over the frozen river. Normally he would be picking up garbage; today he's a manhole guard.

If too much water seeps in from the river he's to start a pump. He's armed with a pump, flashlight, rain gear, food, and golf clubs.

(YOU GUYS PRACTICING YOUR GOLF GAME?) YA - HAD A WHOLE BUCKET OF BALLS. JUST HITTING 'EM. (IN THE RIVER?) YEAH. (SO IF NOTHING ELSE YOU'LL HAVE A BETTER GOLF GAME THIS YEAR.) PROBABLY NOT.

SFX: FADE TO GENERATORS

Brian Carey stands on the deck of his south Moorhead home and looks out over his yard. Normally a sweeping expanse stretching a couple hundred yards down to the river. Today it's all water and ice. The deck shakes as two generators throb. They're powering four pumps which Carey hopes will help keep the river at bay.

He has a permanent earthen dike topped by sandbags.

SFX: WATER

I GOTTA STOP DRINKING COFFEE. . . .

The water is coming up under the dike; he has a hunch he knows why.

THERE'S A HOLE UNDER THE DIKE THAT A WOODCHUCK OR SOMETHING DUG. I'VE GOT A WOODCHUCK PROBLEM IN THE BACK YARD NORMALLY ANYWAY, AND I'M WONDERING IF ONE OF 'EM DIDN'T BURROW UNDER THERE AND CREATE THIS FOR ME . . . . THERE'LL BE AN ALL-OUT ASSAULT ON WOODCHUCKS ON RIVERSHORE DRIVE.

Carey says he'll likely have to man the pumps 24-hours-a-day for at least two weeks, and hope the leak doesn't get worse. Once the water goes down he, like thousands of Fargo-Moorhead residents, will have the task of cleaning up hundreds of water-soaked sandbags.

Moorhead City Manager Jim Antonen says the city will try to help clean up but will have a huge mess of its own to clean up.

MY GUESS SOME OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS WITH LARGER LOTS MAY HAVE SOME REALLY EXCELLENT SAND VOLLEYBALL COURTS FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.

Officials say the Red River will likely have a second, slightly lower crest early next week. Once again testing the mettle of dikes and people.

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