The 2026 Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVWSP) construction season is well underway. Crews have been installing the transmission pipeline for several years in Foster and Wells Counties. This spring, work moved into Griggs County.
Carstensen Contracting, Inc. began working on a 6.5-mile portion of 72-inch pipeline from Helena Township to Ball Hill Township in Griggs County. Carstensen is also installing a 9.1-mile stretch from McKinnon Township to Mabel Township in Foster and Griggs Counties, and an 8.4-mile pipeline from Mabel Township to Helena Township in Griggs County.
“The projects that began this spring in Griggs County are expected to wrap up in the fall of 2028,” says Kip Kovar, Garrison Diversion Conservancy District Engineer / Deputy Program Manager for RRVWSP Engineering.
“This project brings hundreds of crew members to the region each construction season. These workers stay in hotels and campgrounds or rent apartments and houses. They visit restaurants and contribute to local sales tax revenue when they go shopping,” says Merri Mooridian, Garrison Diversion Administrative Officer / Deputy Program Manager of RRVWSP Administration. “The City of Carrington and Foster County have enjoyed an economic boost thanks to the construction crews, and we expect that to occur along the pipeline’s route as the work continues.”
When construction is complete, treated water from the Missouri River will be conveyed via the 125-mile transmission pipeline from central North Dakota to the Red River Valley. The buried pipeline will span from the McClusky Canal to the discharge structure, which empties into the Sheyenne River, located about six miles south of Cooperstown. The pipeline will serve communities in central North Dakota and keep Lake Ashtabula full. Currently, there are 34 miles of transmission pipe in the ground.