Manitoba MP Upset Over Devils Lake Diversion

I am a resident of North Dakota. I believe that calling us "Bastards" is not acceptable. I thought you were supposed to be "Friendly Manitobans!"

'friendly' only goes so far. Violating treaties, polluting rivers, and sending the result to Canada is not exactly how a good neighbour acts, and expecting Manitoba to just lie there and take it is the height of arrogance.

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Every time you complain about the moderators, god kills a kitten.

Turning the taps on a toxic dispute<br />
North Dakota set to launch flood plan<br />
Canada fears pollution will flow in<br />
TIM HARPER<br />
WASHINGTON BUREAU<br />
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<a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1118785813223&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes">http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1118785813223&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes</a><br />
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WASHINGTON - The Sheyenne River begins in North Dakota, leisurely meanders its way eastward, takes a little dip south, then joins the Red River for its northward jaunt into Manitoba. <br />
There it runs smack into what has become the most acrimonious dispute in the growing cauldron of bilateral battles between Ottawa and Washington. <br />
At issue is North Dakota's determination to open the taps, possibly by July 1, on a $28 million (U.S.) water diversion project that Canada maintains will send mercury, salts, sulphates and fish parasites north of the border, polluting Manitoba waters. <br />
Not only is the environment threatened, but also a nearly century-old treaty governing Canada-U.S. border waters. <br />
"How can the United States impose `democratic values' around the world when it can't implement democratic treaties between Canada and the United States?" asks Manitoba Premier Gary Doer. <br />
<p>---<br>Perception is two thirds of what we perceive reality to be.<br />
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Difficult decisions are a privilege of rank.<br />

Hmmmmm how about diverting their pollution back to them or better yet, dam the river at the border and let it overflow its banks on the US side. It's either that or Lake Winnipeg residents will have to get used to swimming in bacteria infested waters.

I believe it's also an echo or reference to a common bumper sticker that appeared in Alberta during the Trudeau era (mid-80s): "Let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark!". Back then it was Albertans saying it about Canada's own East in response to the controversial National Energy Program. So I don't think Canadians would view it as necessarily all that unexpected or controversial.


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Now call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard, and we hit it fast, with a major, and I mean major...leaflet campaign.--Rimmer, Red Dwarf

Let’s not become like the American Administration!

Canadian's don't attack innocent individuals. It’s their Politicians, Senators, Congressmen and American Big Business who can't control themselves. America needs some checks and balances. Holding them accountable for their actions.


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Perception is two thirds of what we perceive reality to be.

Difficult decisions are a privilege of rank.

This is karma for years of Toronto's garbage being shipped to Michigan against the people's will.

Bad karma for Tronno Garbage! I love it. <br />
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Meanwhile, as to why it is too late, and what COULD have been done about it, see "Compromise Could Have Fixed All": <br />
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(wherin, if Manitoba had offered to work along with the states of ND and MN, a solution would already be in place, but instead, they waited until the 11th hour to start filing lawsuits! Typical procrastinating Canucks.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/11812692.htm">http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/11812692.htm</a><br />
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Does anybody know why the lake is flooding in the first place? How come it's getting more water than it use to? Landslide, earthquake?
Canadian247

Doesn't strike you strange that there is American States against this and behind Manitoba? Why? If we are missing something here please reply.

> Does anybody know why the lake is flooding in the first place? How come it's getting more water than it use to? Landslide, earthquake?<br />
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Nothing that dramatic. It is extremely FLAT in that part of the world. It has been getting more rain than can be absorbed for the past few decades (remember, this drainage effort began in 1992, meaning the problem was conspicuous before then). The 3-way continental drainage point (Arctic, St. Laurence, Mississippi) is a few hundred miles east. It is very, very, flat. When it rains there, and some debris falls in causing a temporary blockage, the rivers often flow the other way!<br />
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At the end of the last glacial age, Devils Lake drained into the Hudson Bay system (~ten thousand years ago), but was sealed off by glacial rebound (glacier melts, ground rises slowly over millenium after the weight is gone). <br />
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So, the only outlet available is the one being re-established. <br />
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From <<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/1999/w629nd.htm>">http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/1999/w629nd.htm></a>;<br />
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"MINNEWAUKAN, N.D., June 29, 1999 - Devils Lake is earning its name.<br />
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Townspeople have watched in growing alarm as the lake in northern North Dakota laps closer and closer, swelled by months of rain and heavy snow. The lake is no longer eight miles away; basements get wet, and on a windy day waves lap the corner of the high school football field.<br />
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Mike Callahan said the 350 residents of the community 110 miles west of Grand Forks have tough decisions to make as the lake continues to rise. Many have never lived anywhere else.<br />
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''Everybody has a big question mark,'' the teacher said as a light rain fell Tuesday. ''Do you leave? Do you stay? Do you move the town?''<br />
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Devils Lake has risen about 24 feet in seven years - about 2{ feet just in the past 12 months - because it sits in a closed basin with nowhere for water to drain. It has flooded more than 120,000 acres this decade.<br />
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The county surrounding Minnewaukan has gotten 8 to 15 inches of rain since May 1 and about 3.2 million acres of North Dakota cropland, or about 16% of the total, are considered too wet for planting.<br />
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The city of Devils Lake sits right next to the water and already has had to move several hundred lakeside houses to drier ground. The city of 8,000 has built its dikes higher over the past four years, and two major highways into town have been raised several times..."<br />
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Thanks for the post. That's a lot of rain, it must be part of the climate warming changes perhaps.
Canadian247

Nah. It's all an evil American plan to pollute Canadian prisine waters, as the Manitobans have stated.

Sorry, but that's certainly a stupid comment. Some people seem to be worried that chemical leachate or other polutants may enter their water systems downstream. That looks like a fair concern. The question is, has it been addressed. It looks like there are pressing concerns on both sides of this issue.
Canadian247