Historically, the Sand Hill River had little or no natural capacity near the community of Beltrami, MN. This resulted in frequent overland flooding and standing water throughout the region. The State of Minnesota led efforts to manage water from the late 1800s through the 1940s, focusing primarily on flood control and drainage for agriculture. These State of Minnesota led efforts led to the construction the Sand Hill River State Ditch (State Ditch No. 6) and the Sand Hill River State Ditch Extension (State Ditch No. 7) between the years of 1894 and 1898 to provide a defined channel through the Beltrami Marsh, located approximately three miles west of Beltrami, MN. State Ditches No. 6 and 7 were consolidated under the creation of the “new” State Ditch No. 6, in the year 1917. While State Ditch No. 6 provided some relief, flooding and lack of drainage was still a problem for area. In 1949, concerned local citizens organized to form the Sand Hill River Drainage and Conservancy District to qualify for US Army Corps of Engineers funding of a more comprehensive project. In 1958, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed their more comprehensive flood control project for the Sand Hill River. The project added additional channel capacity through the Beltrami Marsh, where very little channel capacity existed. The constructed channel connected the upper Sand Hill River through the area near little or no natural channel capacity, to the more defined river channel further west. The channelization project was completed in portions of Hubbard Township, Scandia Township, Reis Township, and Liberty Township. Without the channelization work completed by the USACE and others, the area would likely still experience prolonged overland flooding and standing water.

---