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by Steve Lambert, CP
The London Free Press
Monday, May 16, 2005

The Red River that runs through Winnipeg does not exactly look pristine, or red for that matter. It is a mud-like brown. And it contains runoff from farms and, on occasion, raw sewage pushed into the river from heavy rain.

But the Manitoba government and some environmentalists say the biggest threat to the river and its end point, Lake Winnipeg, is almost 200 kilometres to the southwest -- in Devils Lake in North Dakota.

Devils Lake, which has no natural outlet, has risen about nine metres since 1993, mainly because of heavy rainfall. The rising levels have flooded land, washed out roads and forced the relocation of 350 homes.

To solve the problem, the state government is building an outlet to drain water from the lake into the Sheyenne River, which meets up with the Red River near Fargo, N.D. The canal will wind through rolling hills from the lake to the river, with 16 kilometres of open channel and 6.5 kilometres of underground pipeline.

The project is expected to increase the level of the Sheyenne River by a few centimetres and shave up to 10 centimetres a year off Devils Lake.

It might seem to be an ideal solution. But the Manitoba government is convinced Devils Lake contains everything from pollutants to aggressive fish parasites that will cause serious harm to water quality and fish north of the Canada-U.S. border.

"It's very poor quality water, and we want to keep it out of the Red River system," says Steve Ashton, Manitoba's water stewardship minister.

Ashton is not alone. The state of Minnesota also opposes the project and has helped Manitoba and some environmental groups in a court challenge of the Devils Lake project in North Dakota Supreme Court.

Minnesota submitted a brief that points to two parasites that have been found in Devils Lake -- a tapeworm called Ligula intestinalis and a flatworm called Gyroadactylus hoffmani, both of which can make fish sick and more prone to predators.

Opponents of the Devils Lake project also argue that the lake contains high levels of salt and phosphorus. There is also worry about the striped bass that Devils Lake was stocked with in the 1970s.

"It can crowd out the existing species" in the Red River, says Ashton.

"I'll give you an example of something that's happening right now in Lake Winnipeg," says Ashton. "Smelt is not a native species to Manitoba.

It's gotten into the Lake Winnipeg and Churchill River systems and it's starting to crowd out the existing fish species."

Project supporters argue that if Devils Lake water is as bad as critics say, the lake would not be home to a thriving sports fishing industry. The region's many fishing lodges host enthusiasts who come to catch walleye, northern pike and other species.

"Devils Lake right now supports a world-class fishery," said Dale Frink, state engineer with North Dakota's water commission.

Frink said there's been no sign of striped bass in Devils Lake for years, and the parasites that Minnesota is concerned about already exist across much of North America, including Manitoba.

"There isn't anything in Devils Lake that's not in the Red River basin right now."

Construction on the Devils Lake outlet is almost complete, and it could be operational sometime in June. North Dakota's Supreme Court is expected to decide by late May whether to slap an injunction on the project.

The dispute has become an international argument. The Canadian government wants the outlet project to undergo an environmental review by the International Joint Commission, a Canada-U.S. agency that advises the two governments on water issues. So far the U.S. government has not agreed to the review.

Prime Minister Paul Martin raised the issue with U.S. President George Bush at a meeting in Texas earlier this year.

North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad has said a review by the joint commission typically takes more than eight years, and people who live in the Devils Lake area are adamant that something must be done quickly to prevent further flooding.

"Folks are really looking for some relief," said Joe Belford, a politician in Ramsey County, N.D. "They all feel we need to do something with it."

The Manitoba government said it sympathizes with lake-area residents, but maintains the project should not proceed without a full environmental review.

The dispute is causing hard feelings in an area that is usually united in its dealings with water. The Red River is prone to massive flooding every few years, causing damage and distress to both Canadians and Americans living along its banks.

In an editorial in the Tribune in Bismarck, N.D., in April, writer Fredric Smith suggested North Dakota residents should boycott Canada this summer. "Maybe that's how a North Dakotan says thanks for the memories -- by restraining himself from lining the pockets of any anti-Americans in Canada," Smith wrote.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer Doer said he didn't support "those kinds of silly recommendations. Putting up a Berlin Wall to your citizens is not a very sensible recommendation in our view, and we wouldn't make that recommendation to our citizens."

Despite the fact that the outlet could be up and running within weeks, the Manitoba government is not abandoning its fight.

"I'd quote Yogi Berra," Ashton said. "It ain't over 'til it's over."