Put Your muscle where Your mouth is!

Originally I was going to title this "Put your money where your mouth is" but I'm old enough and wise enough to know that the following demand is someone asking the government to use my money, NOT theirs.

In the 1970's the City of Minot took on a huge project to thwart the damage from future flooding of the Mouse River which flows through the heart of the city. Part of this monstrous project was to "straighten out" the river by cutting a new, wider and straighter path to let the water get through the city ASAP.

This was a great and effective idea (until 2011) BUT what do you do with those now cut off sections of the original river bed? 

The answer, back then, was to label them as dead loops and to manage the water flow in and out of them to add to the over-all flood mitigation. Sounds good but in the 20 years I've lived here I have never seen them introduce river water into the loops nor have I ever seen them regulate water out of them and into the river. As it is they collect water from run-off and dry out (which I have not seen completely) from drought like effects.

As I see it they have been totally ineffective as a tool to collect and release water back into the Souris River. What they do collect is this:

Tires, discarded concrete, dead trees, litter, and outright garbage.

Many people, including myself, would like to see the dead loops filled in with dirt, not garbage. This would end a 60 year failed experiment and greatly beautify the city of Minot. This would add a lot of space to the parks that are bordering the loops and it would add Real Estate value to homes that border the dead loops.

Enter the "Save the dead loops" group. Yes there truly is such a group. My advice and question for the group is that if you want to save the dead loops and you want to get others behind the cause "why aren't you out there cleaning them up?"

Why not use some of that muscle power that to this point has only powered your yapping jaws into backbone power and beautify the loops so that more people come to your side of the argument?

An alternative suggestion I would make to the city of Minot is, you have been looking to expand the city landfill... the dead loops are already filling up with garbage, why not fill the dead loops up to near full and then cover them up with dirt? Kill two birds with one stone... unless the Save The Dead Loops gang get off their butts and bend their knees to actually pick up the trash to beautify the area they want to save.