North Dakota lake gulping up land at alarming rate

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-lake08.html

Fred Bott has watched Devils Lake swallow North Dakota roads, farmland and homes as it has risen more than 26 feet in just over a decade.

But even as mayor of the lake's namesake city, he has felt helpless to stop it. U.S. and Canadian officials, farmers and environments have tied up possible solutions for years as they have fought in public and in the courts over what could and could not be done.

This weekend, Bott finally has reason to believe the lake will be tamed.

Late Friday, the governments of North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba, the United States and Canada reached an agreement that allows North Dakota to divert water from the lake while requiring officials on both sides of the border to explore ways to ensure harmful water organisms aren't transferred to Canada.

Fears for Lake Winnipeg

[justinsb]

1. Devils Lake diversion -- need for national policy

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 5, 2005

Devils Lake diversion demonstrates need for national policy protecting Canadian water

Despite Manitoba?s strong opposition, water from Devils Lake in North Dakota may flow across the border into the Red River, and eventually contaminate Lake Winnipeg as early as Monday, August 8. The latest in a long list of water crises stemming from Canada?s failure to protect both water sovereignty and water quality, Devils Lake demonstrates the urgent need for a national water policy.

The Devils Lake diversion, which could have devastating ecological effects, contravenes the Boundary Waters Treaty, a century-old agreement that defines the guidelines for Canada and the US to govern their shared water systems. The treaty clearly states that waters flowing across the border ?shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other.?

The United States has failed to refer this matter to the International Joint Commission (IJC), the dispute resolution mechanism for bilateral water issues, in direct violation of the Boundary Waters Treaty.

?Devils Lake sets a dangerous precedent for future conflicts over our shared water systems,? says Susan Howatt, National Water campaigner for The Council of Canadians. ?This crisis ? like the one in Walkerton in 2000 or the looming crisis today in the Great Lakes ? underscores the need for a national water policy. Water is currently governed by a patchwork of jurisdictions that have failed to conserve and protect the integrity of Canadian water.?

Water being diverted from Devils Lake has not undergone an environmental impact assessment and there are currently no safeguards to prevent invasive species and pollutants from contaminating the Red River. The recently announced pebble and gravel filter falls woefully short of providing the environmental protection needed.

The Council of Canadians is calling on the federal government to show strong leadership and prevent further harm to Canadian waters by intervening in the Devils Lake issue and immediately developing a national water policy.

-30-

For more information, please contact:
Meera Karunananthan, Media Officer, Council of Canadians: 613.233.4487 ext. 234, 613.795.8685 (cell); [e-mail]; www.canadians.org.

--
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON K1P 5V5.
Tel: [phone]; Toll-free: 1-800-387-7177
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.canadians.org

[getmeouttahere]

2. I should have known that the filter...

currently in place wouldn't be enough. I was actually relieved when I read another article this weekend. Silly me!

Nothing like sharing a border with a government that has no regard for any regulatory body, particularly one that attempts to protect the environment.

[justinsb]

3. Tell me about it

It is currently estimated that cross border pollution costs the province of Ontario alone about 5.5 billion annually.

[Desertrose]

4. I can easily believe that...

between the shared waterways and air.

All I can say is...sorry Canada. :cry:


and sorry for what * has helped along in this country. too. :grr: