MPR: The Rising Tide

The Rising Tide
By Dan Gunderson
June 9, 1999
Part two of two parts

Devil's Lake in northeast North Dakota has risen nearly 25 feet in the past six years. Nearly $300 million has been spent to protect roads, utilities and the city of Devil's Lake. The lake is now starting to overflow into neighboring Stump Lake. That lake is expected to grow by thousands of acres. Within five years, the lake could create its own outlet and send an uncontrolled flow of water downstream to cities like Fargo, Moorhead, and Grand Forks.

North Dakota officials say building an outlet now will control the water. But outlet plans have been stopped by opposition from Minnesota, Canada and environmental groups. Some officials say time is running out.


Photo: Dan Gunderson

It's hard to imagine, standing atop a hill in the rolling terrain of northeastern North Dakota, with Stump Lake just a glimmer in the distance. This is the spot where sometime in the next five to ten years, Stump Lake may overflow and head downstream toward Fargo. The lake needs to rise more than 40 feet before it spills over. Geologists say it's happened three or four times in the last 10,000 years, but never in recorded history.

Crews are installing large pipes under a gravel road near Tolna, North Dakota. Sometime this summer, water from Devil's Lake will begin to flow through these pipes into Stump Lake, marking the first time in nearly 200 years the two lakes have been joined.

Fordes: The way I look at it, the water will probably be within 200 yards of our farmstead by this fall.

Keith Fordes' farm has been in the family since 1906. This will be the last summer. By next year, this land will be underwater; part of the 7,000 expected to be flooded as Devil's Lake overflows into Stump Lake.

Keith Fordes has flood insurance on his home, but will not be compensated for losing the farmland that's been his livelihood.

Fordes: I'm trying to look for a bright spot in the future. But theres not much hope. I guess we're taking one day at a time. Right now is graduation. That's the first thing on our list, get that taken care of. Then we'll take it from there.

Keith hopes to move his home, but the federal government won't pay his flood insurance until water reaches the house. By that time, it will be too late to move the house; all the roads will be underwater.

Fordes: We'll be burning the buildings on our farm, and trying to get out what we can.

Keith Fordes' frustration echoes across this sparsely populated area. Had an outlet been built for Devil's Lake when it was first proposed in 1993, he would likely not be losing his home and livelihood. But since 1993, 28 outlet plans have been discussed, and rejected.

Fordes: I quit going to meetings because they say the same thing time and again. And nobody wants to see the simple solution.

Darlene Quam's farm is high enough to escape the water, but when all the roads are submerged, the farm may have to be abandoned.

On a warm spring day, Darlene Quam is in her garden. She says if she has to leave this picturesque setting, it will be because government has failed.

Quam: The sensible thing to do is get an outlet to get water out of here so we don't have to deal with all these things. It's a common-sense thing as far as I'm concerned.

It may well be too late for an outlet to help protect the Quams and others around Devil's Lake and Stump Lake. More water is flowing into Devil's Lake than can be released. Even if an outlet were built today, the lake would continue to rise.

Many officials are beginning to turn their attention to protecting downstream communities by building a controlled outlet before the lake begins naturally spilling into the Sheyenne River.

North Dakota State Senator Vern Thompson has watched Devil's Lake move eight miles in the past six years. It now threatens his home town of Minnewaukan. He says after six years of trying to push action on an outlet, he's convinced the lake will flow out naturally before conflict over the water can be resolved.

Thompson: The challenge we have as elected officials is: are we going to manage the water or are we going to let the water manage us? In all honesty, if we let it manage us as we have to date, once it flows in to the Sheyenne, all hell's gonna break loose.

Minnesota officials oppose a Devil's Lake outlet. They say because the lake has a high salt content, it will hurt water quality in the Red River. Based on the same concern, Canadian officials have pledged to prevent a single drop of Devil's Lake water from flowing into Canada.

That strong opposition is causing growing resentment around Devil's Lake. Devil's Lake businessman Rick Lefleur calls it a humanitarian issue.

Lefleur: It's like a car accident. If you don't know the people who were in it, it's not news to you. It doesn't find a place in your heart. But if you know them, yeah, then it does. My suggestion is this: for those who have such a hard position, come over here and get to know us; because we want you to know us when we're going down. And if you won't do that, then that's being a coward.

The disagreement over what to do with Devil's Lake water may be headed for the courts.

North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer says if the federal government won't take action soon; he's ready to forget diplomacy and build and outlet.

Schafer: If the federal government won't help, then we'll do it ourselves. We'll end up in court, throw it on the table, get sued, whatever we have to do. But let's get this thing figured out. There's a way to do this, I'm convinced. We just need to muster the courage and energy to get it done.

Schafer says he believes there is no more time for study and debate. Moorhead Mayor Morris Lanning agrees the situation is growing more urgent every day. He says having Devil's Lake spill out naturally at a time when the Red River is flooding would be devastating. But Lanning wants consensus, not court battles.

Lanning: The worst thing Minnesota or Manitoba could do is say "we don't want this, we don't want to talk about it. We're gonna fight you all the way." If that happens, it will set water management back by decades in this basin; and that's bad news for everybody.

The Army Corp of Engineers is expected to present a Devil's Lake action plan this week. If the plan does not call for work to begin immediately on an outlet, it's likely the state of North Dakota will start moving dirt, and a legal war will ensue.

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