Claire + Goliath

A conversation with the organizer of Winnipeg’s opposition to Devil’s Lake diversion

Timothy Schwinghamer

The pumps, water and politicians are roaring and the Devil’s Lake diversion project is officially in operation. The water began to flow August 15, and as you are reading this issue, Devil’s Lake water is approaching Fargo, North Dakota on its journey down the Red River to Lake Winnipeg and beyond. The Manitoban recently sat down with a local activist to speak about her part in the resistance to the diversion project and the larger issue of how and why people should be involved in campaigns.

Background

Devil’s Lake is a landlocked lake in northwest North Dakota. Since 1993, the water level has been continuously rising, eating up 130,000 acres of farmland, 350 homes, about a million trees and, in recent years, threatening the Town of Devil’s Lake with floodwater.

The Devil’s Lake diversion project is a $28 million US investment, designed to lower the lake level and control it in the future. A canal has been dug linking Devil’s Lake to the Sheyenne River, a tributary of the Red River, with large pumps capable of diverting 100 cubic feet of water per second from the lake to the river.

Twenty years ago, during a drought, the lake level was very low and salty. North Dakotans, concerned for the lake fish populations, drained the surrounding wetlands into the lake and lifted the water level. Since that time, residential development and agriculture encroached upon the drained wetlands. Today, the rising water threatens these newly developed areas.

Chemical contaminants, plants and fish from Devil’s Lake could influence the Red River and Lake Winnipeg ecosystems, as well as the economically valuable Lake Winnipeg freshwater fishery.

Last week, after negotiations between the two federal governments, the North Dakotan government installed a temporary sand and gravel filter to prevent the release of foreign organisms with diameters larger than two millimetres. Earlier in August, the governments negotiated an agreement where Manitoba and North Dakota would work together to develop a better filter, and scientists would test the lake for dangers. The agreement stated that tests were to be completed before the project became operational, yet the water flowed before the results were in.

Claire Sevenhyusen organized the Winnipeg resistance to the Devil’s Lake project. A concerned citizen of Winnipeg, and intermittently a canvasser with Friends of the Earth, Claire is completing a postgraduate thesis in medical microbiology.

What have you been doing to stop the Devil’s Lake diversion project?

Claire Sevenhyusen: It’s been a bit of a last minute effort because, frankly, when I heard about the project years ago, I thought it was such a ridiculous idea that it would never meet all the political hurdles and never actually be constructed. In April, I guess, I was disturbed to hear that the outlet construction was practically finished. I started looking around for groups who were working on this issue, and I was really surprised to not really find many. I created an online petition because I felt that, of all the friends and family I was talking to, everybody was upset about it, but nobody really seemed to know what to do; I decided that my petition was at least a start. . . . Together we put together a public rally on July 24 to give Manitobans, more widely, a venue where they could come and show their concern about this issue.

Could you explain a little bit more about why you are resisting the Devil’s Lake diversion project?

CS: I’m personally resisting it because it’s an environmentally idiotic idea. It makes no logical sense at all, to introduce water into . . . hundreds of new environments, without studying any of the potential effects. And frankly . . . even if we did all the scientific reviews that were possible, we would still only have the most vague idea of what might happen by introducing this isolated Devil’s Lake ecosystem to the Red River basin. . . . We can’t be too high and mighty . . . about how we treat our own waterways in Manitoba. But in theory, “Dilution is the solution to pollution,” as they used to say.

Which isn’t true.

CS: Which isn’t true, of course! But, in theory, chemical things are chemically active, you can see the chemical effects. But [with] biological things, we have no idea how they might take over, how they might interact with other living things in their ecosystem, and it’s impossible to get them back . . . .

Many vocal Manitobans have joined the resistance to the Devil’s Lake diversion project; you hear them on the radio all the time, right? What is it that unites the people in their resistance?

CS: Obviously, the potential ecological consequences. Also, the political implications of having the longstanding Boundary Waters Treaty completely ignored . . . by the State of North Dakota (Editor’s note: the treaty was signed in 1909 between Canada and the U.S. stating that neither would damage each other’s water). I think these days there’s probably a certain amount of resentment to being bullied by our larger southern neighbour. [I] think that the world, globally, is starting to feel a little bit sensitive about “America” (you know, in quotations), pushing its agenda on other areas, and I think that this issue has just brought it to light for Manitobans, and Canadians in particular. Over just this one potentially small project, we would just like to be able to stand up for our rights, just once.

What did it take for the Canadian government to take action on behalf of the people in Canada?

CS: . . . I’m an optimist, I’d like to believe that the government has been doing everything that it can and has honestly been trying . . . . As a believer in democracy, I would hope that there is still something our elected representatives can do, as long as we show them what it is that we want them to do. [The government should] pull out all the stops, and do everything they can to represent the people’s voice at the political tables.

Was there anything else that you wanted the students to be aware of?

CS: Being optimistic about democracy, I would say: make a fuss. Call your MP. Call the Premier. Write a letter. Write an e-mail. Writing a letter is better, but an e-mail is pretty much just as good. Sign the petition, donate to the legal fund if you’re able to and volunteer if you have the time. I think things can be done. I think it just takes a little bit of effort from a lot of people. Just make sure that our officials know how Manitobans feel about this. The media will help if they realize that there are lots of people who are opposed to the agreements that have been made so far. We can’t just sit idly by on this issue, because that’s what we’ve been doing for years and this is where it’s got us.