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Published April 13, 2011, 08:26 PM
Where the water stays Devils Lake area officials continue to work to battle rising lake
People in the Devils Lake Basin will have to work fast over the next few weeks to quell the threat of widespread damage from the rising lake that is bound to hit a new record elevation every day.
By: Kevin Bonham, Grand Forks Herald
DEVILS LAKE — People in the Devils Lake Basin will have to work fast over the next few
weeks to quell the threat of widespread damage from the rising lake that is bound to hit a
new record elevation every day.
“Coulee inflows into Devils Lake are expected to produce a 2- to 3-foot rise over the next two
to four weeks,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Luckes told the Devils Lake
State Flood Coordination Committee on Wednesday.
That might not sound like much to people living along the Red River or some of its tributaries
during spring floods, where the water rises fast and then recedes within a few days.
But in the Devils Lake Basin, the water doesn’t go away.
The weather service forecasts a 50 percent probability the lake will reach 1,454.8 feet above
sea level this year, and a 40-percent chance it will hit 1,455 feet.
While Devils Lake remains ice-covered, overland flooding is taking out roads and culverts in
all nine counties represented by the Devils Lake Joint Water Resource District.
Stream flow volumes are spiking. District Manager Jeff Frith reported that while coulee flows
are not yet being monitored, the elevation of Morrison Lake, one of several upper basin lakes
that feed into Devils Lake, has risen more than 1.5 feet, to 1,460 feet, in the past five days.
At 1,455 feet, it’s unlikely Grahams Island State Park, which annually attracts 100,000
visitors and is the most popular in the state park system, will open this year. The only road to
the park is at 1,454 feet. And while federal funding is working its way through the system, it’s
possible it will not be available in time to raise the road this year.
Winds of 25 to 30 mph or higher create white-capped 6-foot waves that not only eat away big
bites of roads, they can threaten vehicles.
As soon as the ice is gone, the weather service plans to post three-day, wind-wave forecasts
on its Grand Forks website: www.weather.gov/fgf, under the headings “Rivers and Lakes”
and “Additional Resources.”
The latest climate outlook calls for below-normal temperatures and above-average
precipitation in the region until the end of June.
Devils Lake and the combined Stump Lake, which was at a record 1,452.2 feet Wednesday,
now covers an estimated 184,354 acres and contains nearly 3.8 million acre feet of water.
If it grows, as expected, to 1,455 feet, it will cover 217,469 acres and contain 4.3 million acre
feet of water.
The lake has risen by about 30 feet and quadrupled in size since 1993 and is just six feet
from spilling over from Stump Lake to the Tolna Coulee and Sheyenne River, which has
been flooding this week throughout eastern and southeastern North Dakota.
Under disaster cost/share legislation currently working its way through the state Legislature,
financially strapped local governments could get some much-needed help to repair flood-
damaged roads, said Lonnie Hoffer, North Dakota Department of Emergency Services
disaster recovery chief.
But to qualify, local governments must create strategic road plans.
“You need to have one route to get everybody out of harm’s way,” he said.
In Minnewaukan, N.D., local officials are waiting for federal approval before starting to
building a temporary dike to protect the Minnewaukan Public School from the encroaching
lake until a new school is built — in time for the 2012-13 school year.
The State Water Commission is working on engineering plans for a new outlet from East
Devils Lake to the Tolna Coulee, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is designing a
Tolna Coulee control structure. Both projects are expected to be completed by summer
2012.
The Nelson County Water Resources District is working to write an emergency action plan
for the Tolna Dam on the Sheyenne River.
The Nelson County Commission is trying to buy some time for Stump Lake Park.
At an elevation of 1,454 feet, the park’s café, bar and public restrooms will be lost, unless
another emergency dike can be built this spring. The commission hopes to build a new café
on higher ground, but that could take another couple of years, according to Nelson County
Commission Chairman Odell Flaagan.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send email to
Published April 13, 2011, 08:37 PM
Public comments sought The U.S, Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public input for an environmental assessment for a proposed control structure on the Tolna Coulee in Nelson County.
By: Herald Staff Report, Grand Forks Herald
The U.S, Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public input for an
environmental assessment for a proposed control structure on the Tolna Coulee in Nelson
County.
The Corps hopes to receive comments until the end of May. Comments may be sent to
Steven Clark or Bill Csajko at the Corps at [email protected] or
[email protected] or mailed to either at 180 E. 5th St., Ste. 700, St. Paul MN
55101-1678. Persons submitting comments are advised that all comments received will be
available to the public, to include the possibility of posting on a publicly accessible website.
For more information, contact Bill Csajko at (651) 290-5853 or Steven Clark at (651) 290-
5278.
For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
Published April 13, 2011, 05:09 PM
Towner County scrambling to close washed out roads Officials in Towner County in the Devils Lake Basin and across north central North Dakota are scrambling Wednesday to close dozens of roads as flood waters quickly moved across the rural region.
By: Stephen J. Lee, Grand Forks Herald
Officials in Towner County in the Devils Lake Basin across north central North Dakota are
scrambling today to close dozens of roads as flood waters quickly moved across the rural
region.
“I think we probably have in the neighborhood of 75 roads closed at this point,” said Larry
Halverson, county highway superintendent and emergency manager. “It’s getting pretty
tough to find your way around.”
Many of the roads have washed out. Nobody has been hurt, but there have been a few
cases of people driving into water, he said. “They all got out,” he said.
Several rural families are stranded in their homes by washed out roads, but are prepared for
it. “There aren’t any medical emergencies or anything that we know if," he said.
A portion of state Highway 66 was closed Tuesday and more sections were closed today by
the flood waters that move in from the north in two major coulees.
Heavy, wet snow far above normal depths this winter ended up providing more flooding
faster than expected, Halverson said. Even by Sunday, it didn’t appear there would be
problems, but on Monday flood waters moved fast across the entire county, he said.
The north part of the county drains north into Canada and the remainder of the county drains
toward Devils Lake.
“We are recommending people use extreme caution,” Halverson said of travelers. “And don’t
be driving around sightseeing.”
He has not asked for outside help, such as the National Guard.
“I think the worst is over,” Halverson said late this afternoon. “We have so many roads
closed, there are not many left to close.”
In search of $100 million to fix Amtrak’s route
By Mike Bellmore, Features Editor
Devils Lake Journal
Posted Apr 13, 2011 @ 12:00 PM
Devils Lake, ND —
Amtrak representatives Ray Lang and Marc Magliara were in Devils Lake Tuesday to discus
present and future service through Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby.
Right now, overland flooding north of Fargo and west of Rugby is forcing the passenger train to
use other routes.
When the dike near Harwood is removed and the washout west of Rugby cleaned up, service is
expected to be restored here.
That could happen shortly, according to Lang.
But there is another long-term problem that will come into play soon, and that’s the grade raise
over 17 miles and a couple of bridges in the Churchs Ferry area. It is being caused by flooding
Devils Lake.
An engineering report has been completed of 70-80 pages entailing the cost of the project, which
will be very costly.
The track is owned by BNSF Railway,. whose ultimate decision it will be to temporary halt service
here.
The complete report says it will cost $77 million for the grade raises and bridges, and another $28
million for new rail.
Right now, BNSF is enabling Amtrak to maintain service on the line, but the decision to
temporarily pull the plug could come suddenly - and quickly.
“We definitely want to stay on this line, so what we do will be termed a temporary suspension,”
Magliara said.
“The work to restore it involves a lot of money but it’s possible to raise.”
The two men raised the possibility of a possible coalition with the city, Grand Forks and Rugby.
They also dispelled the rumors and stories of a possible move to the Surrey Line, which goes
through New Rockford.
The two men said water now covers the concrete portion of the bridge near Churchs Ferry, and
they said it will be the bridge inspector’s call as to when service might be disrupted.
“It’s just a matter of inches right now,” said Lang. “It’s up to BNSF and the call could come quickly
and suddenly.”
“We’ll just continue to operate until we can’t.”
Joe Belford of the Ramsey County Commission, who has been on top of this fight for years
brought up the idea of a coalition.
The idea of another meeting involving high-level government officials, similar to the one held
here a year ago when people lined College Drive holding shovels, was also brought up.
“We feel this problem is fixable,” said Lang. “But a meeting and a coalition would also help
greatly.”
“Everything helps.”
Devils Lake had 6,148 boardings during fiscal year 2010. Grand Forks had 19,751 and Rugby
6,409.
Amtrak placed orders for goods and services in North Dakota worth $71,100.
At the end of last year, there were 11 Amtrak employees in North Dakota with total wages of $576,
514.
Minot, Williston and Stanley have had work done on their Amtrak facilities.
The rise of Devils Lake is expected to be relentless and when it rises further the route will be
closed.
Last fiscal year, the Empire Builder carried 533,000 passengers, the most of any train on
Amtrak’s national network.
The amounts needed to restore the line to credibility are unfunded by BNSF because it says the
through route is not needed for freight purposes.
Both the current route and the detour are serviced through overnight hours.
Copyright 2011 Devils Lake Journal. Some rights reserved
