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RESOLUTION #2002-5 IN SUPPORT OF A STATE APPROVED SOLUTION <br /> TO THE DEVILS LAKE FLOODING CRISIS <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Devils Lake has experienced steadily rising water levels since the late 1970's with <br /> pronounced increases occurring since 1993; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, geologic evidence shows the water level fluctuations at Devils Lake are primarily <br /> associated with, and the result of, climatic swings; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, climatologists have concluded that the current wet cycle may continue for the next ten <br /> or more years; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br /> <br />Devils Lake has already risen 24 feet since 1993 flooding about 75,000 deeded acres <br />and requiring a public investment of nearly $400 million to build dikes, relocate <br />hundreds of homes, maintain the region's transportation system and protect other <br />infrastructure; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br /> <br />Devils Lake, at its current elevation of 1,447.1 feet above mean sea level, is less than <br />12 feet below its natural spill elevation to the Sheyenne River at which point it will <br />cover almost 300,000 acres--about 250,000 acres or 390 square miles more than <br />it did in 1993; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br /> <br />erosion at Tolna Coulee, Devils Lake's natural outlet, could release up to 2 million <br />acre-feet of water, about four times the volume of the 1997 flood at Lisbon, from <br />Devils Lake to the Sheyenne and Red Rivers; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br /> <br />analysis by the State of North Dakota and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, <br />including a federal ElS, is showing that construction of a carefully managed outlet <br />from the western portions of Devils Lake to the Sheyenne River can be effective in <br />helping to protect the health, safety and economic well being of the Devils Lake <br />region at minimal risk to downstream interests. <br /> <br />THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Cass County Board of Commissioners, at a meeting held <br />on April 1,2002, does hereby express its support for the implementation of a plan approved by the <br />State of North Dakota to help control flood damages in the Devils Lake Basin and protect property, <br />water quality and other values of the Sheyenne and Red Rivers; and <br /> <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we pledge to work with the people of Devils Lake, the State of <br />North Dakota, and the federal government to attain relief from this ongoing flood disaster as soon <br />as practicable. <br /> <br />Dated at Fargo, North Dakota, this 1st day of April, 2002. <br /> <br />Attest: <br /> <br />Cass County Auditor <br /> <br />Chairman, Cass County Commission <br /> <br />M:\MIN UTES\Comm2002\#2202-5DEVILSLAKE.wpd <br /> <br /> <br />