ND senator says Devils Lake is close to stability

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven says he's “guardedly optimistic” that two decades of flooding in the Devils Lake basin will soon be stabilized.

Hoeven says the three-pronged approach of storing water, building up roads and dikes, and adding a second outlet should turn the lake “from the problem it is to the real asset it should be.”

More than $1 billion in government money has been spent on flood control for the lake that has quadrupled in size since 1993. Political leaders say it's become more difficult to find money for Devils Lake.

Hoeven announced Friday that the Agriculture Department's Natural Resources Conversation Service is making $7 million available to compensate flooded landowners through short-term conservation leases.

Sen. Kent Conrad convened a field hearing on Devils Lake earlier this week.

Tags: devils lake, news, updates, flood