Devils Lake ND May Exceed 2,000 Year Levels
UPDATE April 30, 2009: Devil's Lake has now set a new record high of 1449.3 feet. See this article and an updated version of the 100-year graph shown below.
ORIGINAL POST: April 14, 2009:
This is an update to a story that I ran two and a half years ago, and I thank Jim Andrews (PREMIUM | PRO) for pointing out the recent news regarding the situation and helping me research it.
To refresh your memory, the water level of Devil's Lake, North Dakota has been rising for some time (about 25 feet up since 1993 if you ask the USGS), the lake recently started overflowing into neighboring Stump Lake (in the distance in the map above), and there is a slight chance that it may eventually spill into a nearby river, something that hasn't happened since Christ was born (see quote below). There is a webcam here but it didn't show anything interesting due to snow cover.
The reason this is in the news again is the seasonal flooding that is occurring all over the state, causing the levels to rise once again - they are now near 1448 feet. Even though forecasts are for moderate rises over the next two weeks according to AHPS, we're only a foot away from record levels on Devils Lake (1449.2 back in 2006), and every inch makes a difference. In another 0.8 feet, U.S. Highway 281 will have to be closed for flooding during high winds.
At Stump Lake, it's even worse, according to AHPS, with the current levels exceeding record levels set in 2007, and exceeding forecasts for a gradual rise. This means that Route 23 is already flooded and Route 27 will be flooding too in another 3 feet, U.S. Highway 1 in another 8 feet.
FLOOD TRACKING NEAR DEVIL'S LAKE- STUMP LAKE CURRENT LEVELS- STUMP LAKE FORECAST LEVELS- STUMP LAKE COMPARED TO HISTORICAL PEAKS- DEVILS LAKE CURRENT LEVELS- DEVILS LAKE FORECAST LEVELS- DEVILS LAKE COMPARED TO HISTORICAL PEAKS
From the quotes above, it would seem the USGS is taking the situation more seriously since 2006 (or at least local officials are) when the ND branch said in an article on the web simply: "The actions of humans during the past 120 years or so – since settlement – are not an important factor in determining the behavior of the lake. The lake should not be expected to maintain a stable level or to remain long at any given level."Wikipedia has details on solutions to prevent further problems, including a failed $186 million "outlet" and another $23 million project completed in 2005 (still facing opposition from the U.S. and also Canada) promising to deliver a 4-inch-per-year reduction in the lake height northward through the Sheyenne River into Manitoba. As local news sources say, that is obviously not enough. Certainly if heavy rains plague this area for any significant amount of time this Spring, the situation will get worse. The local Chamber of Commerce has a 3-step solution. You can read the results of an April 9 meeting here, where they say...
One of the most impressive measures of the lake's increase in water volume is how quickly it spreads out across the flat North Dakota landscape. This page says that the acreage of the lake nearly doubles (from 75,000 to 145,000) after a 15-foot rise, and will double again if it reaches its "spill point". Here's a map showing the areal coverage in 1940 (light blue), 1993 (dark blue), 1999 (pink), and a theoretical elevation of 1460 feet - the theoretical 2,000-year situation outlined above (source 1 & 2).
What kinds of problems is this causing (outside of the obvious flooding of homes and roads?) You can see from the Google Street view below that dead trees litter the landscape and power poles (at least those installed before 1993) are inaccessible. The USGS says: "The State of North Dakota and the U.S. Government have spent over $450 million dollars in flood mitigation efforts including moving roads, rail and power lines, and building dikes." -- a number that matches the one I posted in 2006 and hasn't been updated since then. Surely much more has been spent by now.
This article says that the immediate business threat is a 90-year old pavilion may become a victim of the new record flood levels on Stump Lake and that "[There is] a projected 90 percent chance that the lake will rise to a record 1,451.25 feet this year. Devils Lake and Stump Lake have been the same elevation -- essentially one lake -- since the fall of 2007."
One thing I couldn't find any information on (since 2006, when I said that 1,000 people having left the city) was whether or not the residents are leaving the town. City-Data.com says that their population has decreased 7.5% since 2000, but while that is on the lower edge of the data for the rest of the U.S., there's nothing to tie that to the flooding.
The news is not all bad; The Grand Forks Herald says that Stump Lake has seen lots of freshwater fish migrate over from Devils Lake, creating a new fishing industry there.
