Spring flood projections are not out yet for 2017, but officials in Devils Lake are concerned current conditions could lead to significant flooding.
Jeff Frith is the manager of the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. He says Devils Lake's outlets have not been able to run at full capacity this summer; significant rains have meant outflows needed to be scaled back, and water quality and pump maintenance issues keep coming up. Frith says Devils Lake sits at 1450.10, which is about where it was at spring thaw. He says the effects of runoff from the upper basin and full coulees that should be dry now are yet to be seen.
"There's a lot of water left to come into Devils Lake, and that's something we really haven't seen since the '93 year when we had significant rains in the summertime. So it's obviously very concerning going into fall this late in the season that we have those kind of flows in the coulee, and it's something to be aware of. Depending on what the winter brings us, we could be in for a significant runoff next spring. And that's a very scary outlook to go into winter with, saturated soils and upper basin storage areas at capacity or higher."
Frith says stabilizing the lake level would bring economic opportunities for the community. He says it's tough to run a farm, or resort, near a lake with unpredictable levels.
"You know, high, low, whatever it is, we need to be able to go on with our lives without worrying about going dry, or having too much water. If we could stabilize Devils Lake within a two, three foot bounce area... you can develop around it, you can farm, you can go on with your life without worrying about that added burden that a whole bunch of water is going to drown you out - or a lack of water will dry up your industry."
Devils Lake's present day historic high level is 1454.3, which is less than four feet from its spillover elevation of 1458.