LAKOTA (AP) - Flooding problems in Nelson County have no quick or simple answers, a commissioner says.

In the western third of the county, floodwater from Devils Lake continues to spill into the county and Stump Lake, Commissioner Odell Flaagen said.

"Fifteen years ago, west Stump Lake was … dry," he said. "Now, it's 55 feet deep."

Flaagen said overland flooding also is a problem on the north side of the county, where townships and the communities of Mapes and Michigan are seeing water levels rise on Lake Laretta and a neighboring slough.

The Legislature provided money to the State Water Commission to build a drain for the water, but the project is a long way away because some farmers oppose it, Flaagen said.

"It's going ahead, but slow," he said.