Belford wants end to Devils Lake disputes

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) — Ramsey County Commissioner Joe Belford says he thinks a commission with both North Dakota and Manitoba officials is needed to put to rest disputes over Devils Lake.

Belford plans to ask Gov. John Hoeven to set up such a group. He says he would prefer it be an expansion of an existing group such as the Devils Lake Outlet Advisory Committee but that a new commission would not be out of the question.

Belford says the lake is becoming a threat not only to the Devils Lake region but also to downstream areas, because if it keeps rising it might overflow the basin naturally and the flow of water would not be controlled as it is now.

A manmade outlet drains Devils Lake floodwaters into the Sheyenne River. Some residents and governments downstream worry that operating changes being considered for the outlet to boost water flows might increase flooding in their areas or degrade their water quality. Belford says those disagreements need to be ironed out once and for all.