The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-28
REPORT SUBMITTED
BY ENGINEER
ON PLAN
Sixty-Five Mile Trench, Two
Reservoirs and Big Dams
Required
IS
ANOTHER SCHEME
Could Be Carried Out Jointly
Cost Average About
$25 an Acre
FEATURES OF REPORT ON
nINERTEn w ATE NO X

DIVERTED WATER TO LAKE
1t would cost s1,66%,0o0 to con-
struct canal that would maintain
lake at present level.
It would cost $2.o42.000 to
raise level back to where 1t was
in 1859.
Two big reservoirs would have
to be established. occasioning
heavy land damage.
Water from Mouse river could
be used to irrigate 100, 900 acres
and. worked Jointly with diversion
scheme, would reduce cost of lat
ter.
sixty.fve mile trench would
have to be constructed.
State Engineer Atkinson has trans
mitted his report to the governor on
the Mouse river to Devils Lake sur
vey which was made in compliance
with the provisions Of the Hyland
bill. passed at the 1911 session of the
a survey to be made from Devils Lake
to Mouse river to determine the FEAST
bility of diverting the flood waters Of
the Mouse river into the lake.
The report shows that the lake has
been steadily decreasing in size for
many years, and it is known that the
lake surface has fallen eighteen feet
since 1867. fourteen fee since 1879,
seven feet since 1887. five feet since
government surveys made in the early
eighties show that the lake had a wa
ter surface of 112 square miles at that
time. while today it is estimated that
the water surface is sixty square miles.
Annual Shortage of Six Inches.
Statistics obtained by Prof. Chand-
Ter. professor Of civil engineering at
the state university. and in charge Of
stream gaging for the United States
eastern Minnesota, show that the aver
age annual evaporation from Devils
Lake Is thirty-fve inches and the to-
tai water supply from rainfall and
run off is twenty-nine inches. leaving
an annual shortage of six inches.
There has beer much agitation rela-
tive to draining the flood waters Of
the Mouse river into Devils Lake in or
der to prevent further shrinkage, but
heretofore no definite idea as to the
feasibility of the proposition has been
secured.
The field surveys were made by j.
w. Bliss. assistant state engineer and
q total of 1876 miles OF levels were run.
the valleys of the Mouse, Sheyenne and
Wintering rivers were cross sectioned
at various points and numerous amer
Old observations were taken to deter
mine elevations. The propositions to
bring the Mouse river through by the
way of Willowcreek and through Hur-
ricane lake were abandoned for the
reason that the summit between the
Willow creek waters and the waters
running into Devils Lake vas 115 feet
above the present water surface Of the
lake. The present elevation Of the
lake above sea level is 1925 and the
elevation of the Mouse river at the
mouth of Willow creek Is the same as
the lake, while it WAS found that the
elevation of the river at the mouth
of Wintering creek is thirty feet high
er than the present elevation of the
lake. 1t was also found that the Shey-
enne river at a point six miles east Of
the town of Sheyenne is twelve feet
lower than the present lake elevation.
Excavatc Sixty-Ffve Miles
After a large number Of aneroid OBJ
servations were taken by the state en-
gineer on the territory between Devils
Lake and the Mouse river and from
the Sheyenne north to the Turtle
mountains, 1t was decided that the only
possible route worth while surveying
was from a point on the Mouse river
near the mouth of Wintering creek to
the Sheyenne river by the way of Buff
falo and Girard lakes. 1t is thought
IIldI TIE EIdSldI IdNC EouA iAtN VI
the glacial period covered the Mouse
river loop country and some of the
territory east of Mouse river. found its
outlet to the Sheyenne by this route.
The route is approximately 103 miles
long, ~thirty-eigllt miles of which lies
along the valley Of the SheNenne riv-
er, and sixty-five miles of which would
have to be ~excayated.
Construct Two Dams
The surveys established the fact that
in order to divert the waters of the
river 1t would be necessary to con
struct a dam in the Mouse river neal
the mouth OF Wintering creek and one
in the Sheyenne river six miles east of
the town of S%heyenne.' The dam on
the Mouse river would create a reser-
voir $500 acres in extent which would
extend nearly to the town of velva.
A large part of this proposed reser-
voir is bottom land and the land DAM
age would be heavy. The Sheyenne
reservoir would $500 acres of
land and in addition would flood about