page_title: Devils Lake (North Dakota)
section_title: Flooding
hierarchical_section_title: Devils Lake (North Dakota) / Hydrology / Flooding
caption_attribution_description: English: Partially submerged trees in Devil's Lake. Photo taken in 2002 by Greg Hume
context_page_description: 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 1,458 ft before naturally flowing into the Sheyenne River via the Tolna Coulee. On June 27, 2011, it reached an unofficial historical high elevation of 1,454.3 ft. The cities of Devils Lake, North Dakota and Minnewaukan, North Dakota take their name from the lake as does the Spirit Lake Reservation, which is located on the lake's southern shores.
context_section_description: 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. 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 70,000 acres (28,000 ha) 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. 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.
  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.
  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. The outlet operated at the maximum permitted rate for the first time in July 2009.
  The National Weather Service is the official federal government agency responsible for observing and predicting water levels at Devils Lake.
caption: Partially submerged trees in 2002
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