Officials with the North Dakota Extension Service are hoping to see lake levels at Devils Lake go down this summer and give some land back to farmers in the area. Extension Farm Management Specialist Dwight Akre says forecasters are predicting the lake to rise to a peek elevation of 14-hundred-51 feet this summer. He says 14-51 is three feet below the record lake level, and would also be lower than last year’s peak elevation. Akre says seeing the lake drop is encouraging, even if it a matter of feet or inches…
“…We did a little bit of analysis last year and I think a one-foot change in the elevation is approximately 10,000 acres.”
Akre says it would take some time before the land would be ready to go back into production, but it is a step forward. He says since 1993 the flood swollen lake has displaced nearly 131-thousand acres. Akre says you consider the lost land and lost potential the numbers add up…
“…The direct loss is $36-Million but that get multiplied throughout the region from other sectors in the economy so the overall loss is more like $133-Million.”
Akre says the $133-Million factors in agricultural losses in the Devils Lake basin. He says it does not include the costs related to roads and other infrastructure.
