LIDAR gets thumbs up from county
By Lee Coleman
Mercer County Water Resource Board attorney Greg Lange continued his circuit of presentations on the LIDAR project last week at the Mercer County Commission meeting and came away with a big smile on his face.
LIDAR is a new technology that uses light impulses to map out elevations in an area, giving officials a much more detailed look at the topography of an area to aid in the mitigation of flooding.
According to Lange, the cost of the program is $234,000 and is working with the North Dakota Water Commission to receive a 50 percent cost share, meaning local municipalities would be required to raise $117,000.
This cost would be absorbed by Mercer County, the Water Board, cities and industry.
As of last week, industry had pledged $22,000 thus far, Hazen pledged $15,000, Beulah $14,000 and Lange was asking the county for $29,250 and the same amount from the Water Resource Board.