The Devils Lake outlet, which operated for a little more than a month over the course of the year, removed about 100 million gallons of water, which equates to less than an inch from the top of the bloated 136,000-acre lake.

State Water Commission Engineer Bruce Engelhardt confirmed the figure. Put another way, it is 300 acre feet, or enough water to cover about 300 football fields with 1 foot of water, he said.

Opponents of the floodwater diversion project say the outlet, which drains lake water into the Sheyenne River, does not remove enough from the lake to justify its $28 million cost. State Water Commission member Arnie Berg said he thinks the 100 million gallons is significant.

Engelhardt said the outlet removed about three-one-hundredths of an inch of water from the combined area of Devils Lake and nearby Stump Lake. The two lakes became the same level for the first time in nearly two centuries in mid-September.

Devils Lake has more than tripled in size since a series of wet years that began in the early 1990s, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The lake hit a record 1,449.2 feet above sea level on May 9, 2006. It has frozen over this winter at about 1,446.8 feet, Engelhardt said.