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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A proposal to build an outlet to lower Hobart Lake by three feet is coming to a head after five years of planning by the Barnes County Water Resource District Board to move the project forward.

The plan is to bury a 24 inch pipe for three quarters of a mile with another half-a-mile of channel improvements to drain the water into the Sheyenne River.

Barnes County Commissioner John Froehlich said a few landowners haven’t signed off yet. He said they are concerned about a perpetual easement.

Barnes County landowner Keith Colville supports the project but is concerned about those perpetual easements.

The Barnes County Commission approved a letter of support for the project last year to use federal dollars from FEMA, the State Water Commission and the county to lower Hobart Lake. A few township roads are being threatened with raising lake water and a few have been raised more than once.

Last year, environmentalist and fishermen raised concerns over this proposal due in part to the nesting sites of rare migratory birds around Hobart Lake.

A special meeting will be held Wednesday morning at 9am to address this issue. The meeting will be held in the Barnes County Highway Department conference room the public is welcome to attend.

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