Devils Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is the largest natural body of water and the second-largest body of water in North Dakota after Lake Sakakawea. It can reach a level of before naturally flowing into the Sheyenne River via the Tolna Coulee. On June 27, 2011, it reached an unofficial historical high elevation of . The cities of Devils Lake and Minnewaukan take their name from the lake as does the Spirit Lake Reservation, which is located on the lake's southern shores.
History The present site of Devils Lake is historically territory of the Dakota people. The Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Cut-Head bands of Dakotas were relocated to the Spirit Lake Reservation as a result of the 1867 treaty with the United States that established a reservation for Dakotas who had not been forcibly relocated to Crow Creek Reservation in what is now called South Dakota. The name "Devils Lake" is a calque of the Dakota words mni (water) wak'áŋ (literally "pure source", also translated as "spirit" or "sacred"). The Dakota consider it holy because they believe it is the home of the underwater serpent Unktehi. The Dakota name is reflected in the name of the Spirit Lake Tribe and the nearby town of Minnewaukan. European-American settlers mistranslated the name to mean "Bad Spirit Lake", or "Devils Lake". The "bad" referred to the high salinity of the lake, making it unfit to drink, and "spirit" meant the mirages often seen across the water. The Christian concept of the devil is not present in Dakota philosophy. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations also accessed the lake, and the Arikara name for it is čiwahaahwaarúxti and the Hidatsa name is mirixubaash ("sacred water").
Geography
Devils Lake is located in Ramsey County and Benson County in northeastern North Dakota. The Spirit Lake Tribe occupies most of the southern shore and has been adversely affected by flooding since the 1990s.
Hydrology Devils Lake is the endorheic, or closed, lake of a drainage basin of some , the Devils Lake Basin. The lake collects around 86 percent of the basin's water runoff.Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. North Dakota State Water Commission. 2006. 2006 Devils Lake Basin Water Management Plan . Above an elevation of AMSL, the lake spills into neighboring Stump Lake. At , the combined lake flows naturally into the Sheyenne River, though the lake has not reached this level in approximately 1,000 years. The Sheyenne River is a tributary to the Red River, which flows into Canada, with eventual exit into the Hudson Bay. Dike protection is set at .
Under normal conditions, Devils Lake is shallow, saline, and hypereutrophic (very high in nutrients). During periods of excessive precipitation, however, the lake can be up to deep, eutrophic (rich in minerals, nutrients, and organisms), with decreased salinity due to dilution.
Salinity Because Devils Lake is endorheic, the lake tends to be much higher in salinity than the lakes with outlets to river systems. This is similar to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.Rosenberg, Sheryl A. 2000. "A Canadian Perspective on the Devils Lake Outlet: Towards an Environmental Assessment Model for the Management of Transboundary Disputes." North Dakota Law Review 76: 817–59. Lower water levels increase salinity, threatening fish and wildlife. Salinity is measured as total dissolved solids (TDS) and varies throughout the lake. In 2010, concentrations ranged from 987 mg/L in the northwest to 2,245 mg/L in the southeast. Salinity levels in the lake have been one prominent aspect of the debate over diversion of lake water into the Sheyenne River, with questions of the potential environmental impact of the diverted water on downstream rivers, lakes, and communities.
Flooding
Devils Lake is well known for its wide variations in lake levels, with large swings between low and high water levels. This owes in large part to its nature as a closed-basin lake, lacking a natural outlet. The release of water is dependent upon evaporation and seepage.
The low, flat terrain around Devils Lake consists of various coulees, channels, and basins, which may be separated during times of low water, or connected during high water. Thus the boundaries of the lake can vary greatly from year to year, depending on the amount of precipitation.
The draining of wetlands to develop agricultural land in the area has aggravated flooding at Devils Lake. Drainage of the basin's wetlands and conversion of the basin's native prairie to cropland has resulted in water moving more rapidly into the lake, increasing water levels.Bryn, Eric M. 1996. "Through a Biodiversity Looking-Glass: An Analysis of the Devils Lake Water Management Plan." Great Plains Natural Resources Journal 1: 65–96. In addition, the diversion of natural water flows is also considered to have contributed to the flooding.
An increase in precipitation between 1993 and 1999 caused the lake to double in size, forcing the displacement of more than 300 homes and flooding of farmland. The Spirit Lake Tribe, whose reservation is along part of the lake, suffered considerable damage to homes and lands. Attempts to mitigate the flooding have reportedly cost North Dakota and the U.S. government more than $450 million. Efforts to control flooding include artificial outlets, dike construction and moving railroad lines, roads, and power lines."Devils Lake Basin in North Dakota." United States Geological Survey Water Science Center. https://nd.water.usgs.gov/devilslake/index.html . Future climate as projected by 17 different global climate models indicates overall increase in both precipitation and temperature in the Devils Lake region leading to the lake's overspill probability (24–47% without the outlet and 3.5–14.4% with the full capacity outlet) into the nearby Sheyenne River.Kharel, G. & Kirilenko, A. 2018. "Comparing CMIP-3 and CMIP-5 climate projections on flooding estimation of Devils Lake of North Dakota, USA," PeerJ https://peerj.com/articles/4711/?td=wk.
In response to the flooding, the U.S. Congress directed the Army Corps of Engineers to research construction of an outlet in 1997 to control the lake level through methods other than evaporation or natural overflow. The Corps' design included mechanisms for filtration and monitoring of the water, and was estimated to cost $186.5 million.Brouwer, Greg. 2003. "Corps Approves Devils Lake Diversion," Civil Engineering: 18–19.
The state of North Dakota objected to the cost and certain water quality provisions of the plan, and declined to participate in construction of the Corps' outlet. In 2003, the state constructed its own outlet to divert water from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River, at a cost of $28 million. The outlet was completed in 2005, but was not operated in 2006 due to water quality and biota issues.Devils Lake Journal (Devils Lake, ND), July 28, 2009 The National Weather Service is the official federal government agency responsible for observing and predicting water levels at Devils Lake.National Weather Service hydrograph for Devils Lake: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=fgf&gage=dcbn8&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
Recreation Devils Lake has been known for a long time for fishing and other watersports. It has been named the perch capital of the world. There are a number of boat ramps and other facilities around the lake to facilitate recreational activities on the lake. Recreation in the form of open water and ice fishing is estimated to have generated more than $20 million annually.
White Horse Hill National Game Preserve is located on the lake's southern shore. Grahams Island State Park is located on an island in the lake. Other parks on the lake include Black Tiger State Recreation Area and Shelvers Grove State Recreation Area, which is now closed due to the lake's flooding.
Issues and controversies
Outlet controversy
During the most recent wet cycle which began in 1993, the lake rose over , inundating of primarily agricultural land. This required the expenditure of more than $400 million in flood protection measures.Kempf, Bart. 2007. "Draining Devils Lake: The International Lawmaking Problems Created by the Devils Lake Outlet," Georgetown International Environmental Law Review. Some stakeholders argued for construction of an emergency outlet into the Sheyenne River, which is a tributary of the Red River of the North.
The Army Corps of Engineers proposed to draw water from a different point of the lake, provide filtration, and discharge a maximum of of water from Devil's Lake, in order to lessen dependence on overflow or evaporation to reduce water levels.Hollis, Duncan B. 2007. "Disaggregating Devils Lake: Can Non-State Actors, Hegemony, or Principal-Agent Theory Explain the Boundary Waters Treaty?" In Responsibility of Individuals, States and Organizations. The Corps of Engineers estimated its project costs to amount to $186.5 million, with the United States Congress designating $100 million to the project; North Dakota would have paid the remaining amount. Because the project potentially affected the Red River of the North, which runs into Canadian waters, the project was considered to be subject to the Boundary Waters Treaty, and international issues were raised.
Led by Republican Governor John Hoeven, North Dakota objected to the water quality provisions and the amount of funding required. Instead it constructed its own outlet, with approval of the North Dakota Department of Health, the U.S. State Department, and Council on Environmental Quality. This outlet, which cost $28 million, has a lower maximum discharge than the federal proposal (limited to a maximum of by the Section 402 NDPDES Permit); its gravel filter removes only larger organisms. But it has provided some relief to the flood problem.Landers, Jay. 2005, Oct. "North Dakota Begins Operating Devils Lake Diversion," Civil Engineering: 18. Construction began in 2003 and was completed as of summer 2005.
The state outlet project was opposed by the governments of Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada. They argue the outlet would create the potential for the transfer of unknown foreign aquatic species and high levels of sulfates into the Red River basin, an important agricultural area, and Lake Winnipeg, the world's 10th-largest freshwater lake.
In March 2004, Manitoba, along with Minnesota and several environmental groups, sued the North Dakota Department of Health in state court over the Devils Lake Outlet 402 NDPDES Permit. The court ruled the outlet could proceed in August 2004 and May 2005.
The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 established an intermediary, the International Joint Commission (IJC), through which the United States and Canada can solve cross-boundary water disputes, but the commission has no power to act without invocation by both nations.Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 Canada attempted to invoke the IJC for purposes of conflict resolution, but the United States did not, effectively preventing the IJC from taking part in the controversy.Flanders, Joseph M. 2006. "Transboundary Water Disputes on an International and State Platform: A Controversial Resolution to North Dakota's Devils Lake Dilemma," North Dakota Law Review 82, 3.
The Government of Canada argues that the diversion by the state, without consultation or approval from Canada, is a violation of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and Canada's national sovereignty. The U.S. government contends the diversion will not be harmful, nor will it violate the treaty under current conditions.