On April 24, 1997, the Red River crested at an all-time high in Drayton, North Dakota, and the town's residents knew something needed to change.

Every time an above-average snow season gave way to the warming of spring, the river that passes this town of 800 would rise out of its banks. Streets would flood in the town that sits just west of the Minnesota border, and finally, in 1997, FEMA purchased 16 parcels to build a dike that would keep the water out.

Now, according to the Grand Forks Herald, FEMA has ordered that dike removed.

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"My personal opinion is, why would there ever be a program that leaves a community without flood protection?" KodaBank Vice President Rob Boll told the Herald. "Why would (FEMA) initiate an offer or go along with a buyout program if it was going to mean we had to dismantle our dike system? It doesn't make sense."

The city says the dike has saved Drayton from being flooded five times since it was built 19 years ago, the report added, but FEMA regulations prohibit construction of permanent structures on land the agency owns. The town has been working with FEMA for two years to resolve the issue, but even an offer to purchase the land back for $636,000 was denied, the Herald reported.

Noncompliance means any future FEMA assistance - like the $45,000 grant the city requested last year for a generator at the water plant - will be denied, according to a separate Grand Forks Herald report. Residents have held meetings and launched Facebook pages to get the word out, but so far, all attempts to resolve this issue and keep their dike have failed.

FEMA said it continues to work with the city on flood mitigation plans.

"We're working with Drayton on a solution that will allow the community to meet the requirements for proper use of FEMA mitigation grant funding while remaining sensitive to the needs of the community," FEMA public affairs director Rafael Lemaitre said in a statement to weather.com. "FEMA and the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services are committed to working with Drayton to bring the community into compliance so that residents and businesses are better protected, and that North Dakota remains eligible to receive mitigation assistance in the future."

The city is now looking at possible alternatives, such as moving the dike closer to the city or building a temporary one every year at an annual cost of at least $100,000, but residents are staying hopeful that a last-minute deal can be worked out with FEMA, the Herald also reported. Still, city officials hired an engineering consulting firm to prepare for the removal of the dike, and that has left residents feeling like they won't be protected from the river's rise much longer.

"If we didn't have these dikes here, water would be on Main Street," Drayton resident Rick Corrick told WDAY.com. "Water would be right up into our bank our grocery store, and now it's going to get here faster and they want to open areas in our town. That's just wrong."

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