DEVILS LAKE - The Red River Basin Commission stopped short Thursday of endorsing an east-end outlet to relieve the chronic flooding of Devils Lake, which is barely 6 feet from spilling uncontrollably into the Sheyenne River Valley.
Instead, it decided to encourage the quick establishment of an international task force to find an immediate solution to the 17-year-long flood that has cost more than $1 billion and offered to assist in any way possible.
It also will specifically ask such a task force to include a risk assessment and to establish an action plan as the lake rises ever-closer to the natural spill level of 1,458 feet.
The lake, which has risen by more than 28 feet and more than tripled in size since 1993, was at an elevation of about 1,451.7 feet Thursday. About $1 billion has been spent to fight the flood, and another $250 million will be spent in the next two years to raise roads and to protect the city of Devils Lake.
The RRBC had considered a resolution calling for its own risk assessment. However, it learned during the meeting that North Dakota's congressional delegation already is working to establish an international task force and that it could be in place within 30 days.
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"If they're moving on a fast timeline, they're in a way better position to address it in a timely fashion than we can," said Lance Yohe, RRBC executive director. "And it sounds like they're ready to move on it."
The basinwide risk assessment was proposed by Sam Schellenberg, a representative of the Manitoba Water Co-op.
Yohe on Thursday dispelled a notion widely reported by some media Wednesday night and Thursday that Manitoba had softened its opposition to an east-end outlet to Devils Lake.
After touring the basin Wednesday, RRBC Chairman Herm Martens, who represents Manitoba municipalities, said he would talk to Canadian officials to help them understand the gravity of the situation in Devils Lake.
"Devils Lake is, after all, a part of the greater Red River Basin, and this problem here is also a problem for all of us along that system," he said.
Ramsey County Commissioner and RRBC member Joe Belford said he was somewhat disappointed that the commission did not take a stronger stand.
"We can't wait for a two-year study," he said. "We need to start this fall or first thing next spring with something - a spillway or something to get water moving. It's already a disaster here. If we don't do something now, this disaster will spread downstream to farmland and communities all along the Sheyenne and Red."
Yohe said he is not disappointed.
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"What I got out of it is that people are engaged, and I think that's super positive," he said. "I'd like to get to the point where we get ahead of things, not reacting. Gradually, I think we're going to get there. For the commission, that's a good position to be in, to offer assistance. Let them go ahead and do it."
Kevin Bonham is a writer for the Grand Forks Herald, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.
