Construction to begin this year on long-awaited Klondike pond

By Editor | June 28, 2025 |

By Anna Jauhola
After 15 years of planning, construction is set to begin on the first phase of a huge retention pond project in Kittson County.
The Klondike Clean Water Retention Project, located in Klondike Township along the Roseau County border, is unique only in its size. It will hold back flood and spring melt water coming from the eastern portion of the Two Rivers Watershed District, which extends nearly to Badger. The district already operates the Ross Impoundment by Badger and the Nereson Impoundment by Greenbush. But each of those holds only about 3,000 acre feet of water.
“When we build this whole project, it will hold roughly 35,000 acres feet of water,” said Dan Money, watershed administrator.
In the watershed district, there has often been large-scale flooding between Badger and the Kittson County line, typically along lateral and state ditches. The ditches were originally built in the early 1900s, and have long been unable to handle the amount of runoff from large spring melts and heavy rains.
Phase 1A of this project will include building an outlet structure on Lateral Ditch 1 releasing into the South Branch of the Two Rivers, an outlet structure on State Ditch 50 releasing into the Middle Branch of the Two Rivers and a portion of the earthen levee between the two. Phase 1A will not hold water back on its own, but once the rest of the phase is complete, it will hold 15,240 acre feet. That is five times the size of either of the other impoundments in the district.
This portion of the project was brought forward this year as the watershed district must use the $2.9 million in grant funding from the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council soon, or they lose it. The total for this part of the project is $3.1 million, a bid the watershed district board approved from Spruce Valley Corporation. The watershed has $4.1 million saved up for this overall project, and will use some of that money to cover the $200,000.
The entire project with all phases completed will cost $42.1 million.
“We’ve already done the project design and permitting,” Money said.
For this project, the watershed district had to obtain 17 permits. As of the end of May, they had received 16 of them. They’re just waiting on the dam safety permit from the state of Minnesota, and then construction can begin. The watershed district just needs to give the notice to proceed and Spruce Valley will likely begin construction in late summer or early fall, Money said.
The main push for this project is flood control for the region, with the overall goal of helping reduce peak flows on the Red River by 20%. Money said once the Klondike project is fully built, Two River Watershed’s contribution to the Red River Watershed Management Board’s peak flow reduction goal will be met.
The other benefit of building this retention pond is to be able to release water when the Two Rivers is at its lowest flow periods. By holding back 10% of water collected each year, and releasing at different times, the flow will break up stagnant water, increase dissolved oxygen levels for aquatic life, alleviate the algae blooms on Lake Bronson and reduce phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the channels.
“Upstream of here is a pretty good ag area that’s farmed. Some is CRP, trees, wetlands and stuff too, but sediment loads in the Two Rivers gets pretty high,” Money said. “This impoundment will reduce sediment. Instead of it going into Lake Bronson, it’ll hold up out here in this area.”
He added that phosphorus and nitrogen are tied to sediment levels, so reducing sediment reduces those chemical levels in the water.
The watershed district will continue to seek money to complete Phase 1. They applied for $17 million from the Minnesota Legislature through the Flood Hazard Mitigation Grant. The Legislature has stalled and is planning for a special session, but it’s not looking great as the governor’s proposed bonding is only $5.6 million, Money said. They can also apply for money through several federal resources, which can be daunting, so the district continues to also visit with state and federal legislators, and partner with other watersheds to get the message across.
For more information, visit https://tworiverswd. com/Klondike.html.