VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Earlier this year, Barnes County made a request to the State Water Commission to help stabilize the river bank along County Road 21 due to erosion some 11 miles south of Valley City.

Highway Department Superintendent Kerry Johnson told commissioners this week that the state will pay for a portion of the repair project due to increased flows of Devils Lake water coming into the Sheyenne River. Johnson gave the Barnes County Commission an update on the project. The first speaker is Johnson followed by Commissioners Rodger Berntson, Cindy Schwehr and John Froehlich during the October 3rd commission meeting.

Under the State Water Commission mitigation plan, if a government entity can show proof that additional water from two Devils Lake outlets is causing river bank erosion the state will pay for a portion of the cost to stabilize the river bank.

Under the agreement, the state will pay $32,000 and the county will pay $80,000 for the stabilization project.