A big price tag isn’t unusual for a complex erosion control project, but usually you get something for your money in the end. In Fairbanks, Alaska, the Natural Resources Conservation Service is recommending that a project not simply be stopped, but be completely undone, which could cost as much as $10 million.
The NRCS recommends removing about a mile of a 10-year-old Delta Junction stormwater infiltration basin and associated structures because they haven’t functioned as intended. Originally meant to reduce erosion in the Delta-Clearwater River and the Clearwater Slough, to reduce area flooding, and to improve salmon habitat in the slough, the basin apparently suffered from a poor design. Five years of study of the worsened drainage problems led to the recommendation to return the area to its pre-project condition.
Federal stimulus funds were considered but won’t be available for the restoration effort; the NRCS is looking for other means to pay for it. You can see more details of the project in this article from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.