Devils Lake Wants Permission to Clean Out Tolna Coulee

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — City officials in Devils Lake are seeking state permission to further lower a coulee on the lake's east end through which floodwaters would naturally flow if the lake continues its years-long rise.

If the state rejects the request — an outcome city officials expect — the matter might end up in court, though Mayor Fred Bott said the legal explorations are "extremely preliminary."

Water would flow through Tolna Coulee south to the Sheyenne River if the bloated lake ever hit 1,459 feet. The city spent about $29,000 this fall to remove sediment from the coulee and lower the natural spillover elevation to 1,458 feet — the coulee level state geologic officials say existed when North Dakota became a state.

Todd Sando, assistant engineer for the State Water Commission, said cleanout below the 1,458 "natural" level would be considered drainage rather than routine maintenance and thus would require a state permit.

State officials also have said any effort to move water out of the east end of the lake, where it's saltier, might be tested in court by those who oppose the movement of Devils Lake floodwaters downstream to the Sheyenne River and then to the north-flowing Red River.

"Anything below (1,458 feet), it's statewide significance," Sando said. "A permit would be real difficult."

Devils Lake has more than tripled in size since 1993 because of a series of wet years, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to roads, homes and businesses. It hit a record level of 1,450.72 feet this summer. On Wednesday, the lake was at 1,449.96 feet, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

The state has built a $28 million outlet to drain floodwaters from the west end of Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River to provide some flood relief. City engineer Mike Grafsgaard said a lowered coulee along with some type of flood control structure on the east end would boost flood control not only in the region but also downstream, as it would help prevent a large amount of water from rushing downstream should the lake hit the natural spillover level.

"You could utilize the lake as a pool, similar to a reservoir behind a dam," he said.

City officials earlier this year went on record supporting a 1,446-foot lake level. They are seeking state permission to lower the coulee to about 1,453 feet, the estimated lowest coulee point on property that the city owns.

Grafsgaard said any legal maneuverings would be to determine what rules and regulations would apply to such a project, not to confront the state.

"We have a good working relationship with the state," Grafsgaard said. "We would hope we could maintain that relationship."

The city and state for years have cooperated on lake flooding issues, most recently agreeing to work together to pay 25 percent of the cost of a federal project to begin raising the levee that protects the city and some outlying areas.

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to raise the height of the levee from 1,460 feet to at least 1,465 feet and as high as 1,468 feet — a project that would be done in several phases at an estimated cost of up to $113 million. At 1,468 feet, the levee would protect the city from the maximum lake level of 1,459 feet, allowing room for wave action. The corps earlier this month awarded a $21 million contract for the first phase.

Grafsgaard said a lower Tolna Coulee might mean the level of the maximum levee raise could be lowered. Corps project manager Bonnie Greenleaf said the agency has not determined what lowering the coulee might mean to the levee project.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.