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Neighborliness only goes so far for Devils Lake flooding |
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009 |
By Richard Betting
Valley City
A recent letter to the editor in the Times-Record (Wednesday) proposed the Tolna Coulee “cleanout” as a solution to Devils Lake flooding. Valley City ought to pay attention to this plan. It’s not new, neither is it sensible. Nor did the writer include any factual information to support his plan.
What “they” want to do is dig a ditch 13 feet deep through the Tolna Coulee. That is, reducing the point of overflow from Devils Lake/Stump Lake from 1,459 to 1,446 feet mean sea level. That would allow all the water above the 1,446-foot level to flow from Stump Lake into the Sheyenne River. This year that would have meant that all the water flowing into Devils Lake would pass through the lake into the Sheyenne. How much water? More than 600,000 acre/feet. At a rate of about 7,000 cubic feet per second. At a time when that much water was flowing through the city already.
I don’t know of anyone who, having neighbors with flooded basements this spring, offered to fill their own basements in order to help out. Neighborliness can only go so far. I’d guess that an extra 7,000 acre feet this year would have put water up to the courthouse.
Among other plans that the State Water Commission has in mind are to increase the level of salts in the river and the other is to increase the Devils Lake outlet maximum flow from 100 cfs to 250 cfs. These plans are from the agency that is charged with protecting and defending water and North Dakota citizens from acts like that.
I no longer live in Valley City itself, but everyone there and in other river towns all the way to the Canadian border should be paying attention to the wild plans some would impose on others just so drainers can continue draining in the upper basin of Devils Lake.
The Sheyenne River has its own issues with draining and flooding. Adding Devils Lake water would be a return to the Ice Age. Let Devils Lake basin water stay in the basin and let them deal with it there.
To learn more, attend the 9 a.m. June 17 meeting of the Upper Basin Sheyenne River Water Boards at City Hall in Valley City.
Betting is a member of People to Save the Sheyenne.
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