As contractors prepare for the 2026 construction season of the Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVWSP) transmission pipeline, the State of North Dakota’s Water Topics Overview Committee received an update on the Project’s status. On March 26, Duane DeKrey, Garrison Diversion Conservancy District (Garrison Diversion) General Manager, shared the RRVWSP status update, plus work plans for the remainder of the 2025-2027 biennium. Garrison Diversion is a co-sponsor of the RRVWSP with Lake Agassiz Water Authority (LAWA).

“This year’s construction season will begin with 30 miles of pipeline installed to date, with plans to construct 14 miles during the 2026 season,” DeKrey says.

Garrison Diversion requested construction bids for Contracts 6B, 6C, and 7A last fall. The LAWA and Garrison Diversion Boards of Directors each voted to award the three contracts to Carstensen Contracting Inc. The combined value of the three contracts is $184,701,941. Carstensen is based out of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, and has worked on other RRVWSP transmission pipeline contracts.

Current contracts include:

• Contract 5C: 1 miles from Bordulac Township to Bucephalia Township in Foster County. One mile remaining to be constructed in 2026, plus land restoration.
• Contract 5D: 10 miles of pipeline and a trenchless crossing of Pipestem Creek in western Foster County and eastern Wells County are complete. Land restoration begins in 2026.
• Contract 6A:1 miles of pipeline from James River to Eastman Township in Foster County. 2.65 miles already in the ground, with restoration planned once construction wraps up.
• Contract 6B/C: 17.6 miles of pipe in McKinnon, Sutton, and Revere Townships in Foster and Griggs Counties, with three 96-inch diameter trenchless crossings of jurisdictional wetlands and one 96-inch diameter trenchless crossing of a BNSF railroad. Begins in 2026.
• Contract 7A:5 miles of pipeline from Revere Township to Cooperstown in Griggs County, including three 96-inch diameter trenchless crossings of jurisdictional wetlands. Begins in 2026.
  
  

During the most recent legislative session, North Dakota lawmakers approved $205 million in the Department of Water Resources budget for the RRVWSP, which represents the State’s 75% cost share for the 2025-2027 biennium. LAWA represents the end users of the Project, who are responsible for the 25% local share. The local portion for the biennium is $68.333 million, the majority of which will be paid by the largest users of the RRVWSP, the Cities of Fargo and Grand Forks.