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CITY (NewsDakota.com)–Residents of Valley City and the surrounding area had a resounding message for those proposing a water control structure in the Tolna Coulee Thursday night.
Three-thousand cubic feet per second (cfs) of Devils Lake water is no answer.
The North Dakota State Water Commission and the US Army Corps of Engineers held a public meeting at the Hi-Liner Activities Center to discuss the plan, which is meant to prevent a catastrophic release of water from Devils Lake, a release the state water commission believes could occur if the lake reaches its natural overflow elevation of 1458 feet.
The plan calls for a wall of sheetpile sill with control logs positioned into a spillway of sorts. The logs would limit the release of water possible through the coulee to 3000 cfs.
The water commission believes that a large release could occur if the lake naturally overflows and begins to erode the protective barrier of the coulee, a scenario described by the commission’s Bruce Engelhardt.
“We realize that 3000 cfs is still a damaging flood, but we’re trying to prevent the 8000-14000 cfs that could be released, and we believe likely would be released if erosion were to occur,” said Engehlardt.
But citizens spoke for almost two hours against the structure, one that they believe solves little of the problem a release from Devils Lake would cause, with some suggesting the structure would actually make the problem much worse.
“All you have to do is look at our river. We already have almost 3000 cfs moving through there now. We just can’t handle another 3000,” said Barnes County Commissioner Eldred Knutson.
Jim Stevens, a farmer who lives south of Valley City, accused the group of collusion with Devils Lake interests. “This structure bottlenecks the water down so that erosion will speed up, so you can get the lake to 1446 feet, and that’s a number that has been kicked around for years,” he said.
Stevens added, “We’d be better off armoring the coulee and letting it spill out naturally over an area that’s supposed to be 1200-1400 feet wide.”
Valley City commissioner Matt Pederson said that he supports a control structure, but not the operating plan, saying more water needs to be held back during peak flooding times, and more water should be released during winter months.
Pederson also announced a possible compromise in the works between Valley City and Devils Lake over access to the coulee. Devils Lake owns the land, and will not allow a structure to be built, but Pederson said the agreement would center around a gravity-based outlet.
“I would ask the governor to facilitate the talks between our two city commissions,” said Pederson.
Former Valley City mayor Mary Lee Nielson used the platform for an increase in flood mitigation funding, stating the proposed $30 million is not enough for downstream interests.
“We know our friends in Wahpeton needed $35 to 40 million for their flood control, and $30 million is not enough to protect Valley City. Devils Lake got all of their levees, and I believe downstream interests should be treated like Devils Lake was,” said Nielson.
Public comment will be taken on the project through August 15th. If the decision is made to move ahead, a contractor could be named in September, with construction completed by March of 2012.