DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) – Canada’s top diplomat in the Upper Midwest has gotten a firsthand look at the chronic flooding in the Devils Lake region.
 
Counsel General Jamshed Merchant spent Thursday touring the area, learning about the 20-year flood that has covered thousands of acres of farmland and cost more than $1.5 billion to mitigate.
 
     Canada is interested in the flooding because excess lake water that is now drained by man-made outlets flows into the Sheyenne River and ultimately the Red River, which flows north into Manitoba. Canadians want to ensure there is no harm to their waters.
 
     Merchant was named to his post in Minneapolis in October. The North Dakota State Water Commission gave him the daylong tour, with stops all around Devils Lake.