Gov. Jack Dalrymple said today that the state is committed to doing "whatever it takes" to tackle the threat of the rising Devils Lake, and he's optimistic that three projects to move more water out of the lake could be underway by 2011.
Wednesday, Dalrymple delivered his first budget address to state lawmakers, calling for more infrastructure funding, improvements to state colleges and as much as $120 million for the Devils Lake projects.
He told the Herald's Editorial Board today that the state has come up with a plan and the timing might be right to get other officials on board, but there still are major hurdles ahead.
Legislators will spend the coming months working on the budget before it's finalized, meaning the funding for Devils Lake could be changed.
And officials from other North Dakota communities, Canada and Washington, D.C., also need to agree to the plan before the outlets could run at full speed to bring down the lake.
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Devils Lake has risen by about 30 feet in the past 17 years, reaching a record 1452.1 feet this summer -- less than 6 feet from a level that officials estimate would cause a natural and uncontrollable spill out of connecting Stump Lake into the Sheyenne River.
It's a dire forecast, but Dalrymple said getting this close to the spillover point could prompt more local leaders to agree that something needs to be done.
"I think everybody has reached the point where they believe that this can happen, which is absolutely essential," he said.
Building support
Darlymple said the plan is to increase the flow of a west-end outlet, add an east-end outlet and build a control structure on the Tolna Coulee. All together, it would add up to a total lake runoff of about 600 cubic feet per second.
These projects are still in the planning and design phase, he said. While it's still "premature" to predict when the work might be finished, Dalrymple said he's hopeful construction can begin in 2011.
He'll have a familiar ally in Congress to advance the projects -- former Gov. John Hoeven, Dalrymple's boss until this week, who resigned from office Tuesday to prepare for his newly elected spot in the U.S. Senate.
But getting the approval to increase the controlled lowering of the Devils Lake will still be complicated because the plan would affect communities in both the U.S. and Canada.
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Canadian officials are worried about the possible impacts on water quality and quantity in Manitoba, and also have concerns about foreign species that could make their way north.
Dalrymple said Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer, who previously served as the Manitoba premier, is an "intelligent" man who understands the dire circumstances but still has to carefully handle this politically difficult situation.
"Gary is very aware of where he is with the public of Canada, and Gary as much as admitted to me one time that he's got to do what he's got to do," he said. "I think he knows perfectly well that our arguments and our science are 100 percent sound. At times you almost get the feeling that they're sort of apologizing."
Still, Dalrymple is optimistic that they'll get the support of downstream communities and Canadian leaders to move ahead with the plan. He said it's in the best interest of everyone to deal with the problem now before there is an uncontrolled spillover.
"We want to be sure people understand that we're committing to whatever it takes at Devils Lake," he said. "I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been. I think we have a plan that can actually work."
Johnson reports on local politics. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
