Major Flooding of the Red River of the North: Impacts On Water and Soil Qualities in An Urban Environment.

During the spring of 2009, the Red River of the North was at record height (12.4 m above the river bed) as this river flowed through Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota.  Major urban and rural flooding was observed during the course of this high water.  The objective of this research was to determine the impact of urban and rural flooding on the quality of flooding waters and determine the quality of the sediments deposited in public and private lands after the flood waters receded.  Water samples were taken on 16 different days at two locations upstream and downstream of the Fargo (North Dakota) and Moorhead (Minnesota) city limits.  Water samples were analyzed for 17β-estradiol, estrone, total Hg, diesel hydrocarbons, gasoline hydrocarbons, nitrate-N, ammonium-N, chloride, sulfate, pH, electrical conductivity, and total sediments.  After flood waters receded, flood water sediments (new parent material), were sampled from a natural riparian area, a public park, a community gardens area, and a residential lawn and were analyzed for the above parameters and also particle size.  Mass fluxes and mass deposition of the measured parameters will be estimated.  The data generated by this research will be used to assess the impacts of major flooding on the quality of new parent materials and also the impact of a major urban area on water quality.