DEVILS LAKE (AP) - State Water Commission officials on Monday completed repair work to a vandalized valve at the idled Devils Lake outlet, and pumps were being primed late in the day.

The outlet could be moving Devils Lake floodwaters into the Sheyenne River again by midweek, Assistant State Engineer Todd Sando said.

The Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, a state water agency, supplied a large pump to remove water from the valve area so it could be fixed. The valve, accessed by a manhole, is in a concrete structure beneath ground.

"It was a lot easier to work on with the water out of there," Sando said.

Officials shut down the outlet in late June so they could investigate reports by outlet opponents of minnows in the open channel below the outlet. A small crack in the outlet's intake structure was repaired, but when officials went to restart the outlet late last week they discovered the vandalism.

It was not known who was responsible for the damage to the valve.

Canadian officials and downstream outlet opponents fear the outlet will pollute their waters with fish and other smaller organisms, because it sends Devils Lake floodwaters into the Sheyenne River and ultimately the north-flowing Red River. They want a more advanced filter on the outlet.

North Dakota officials say the current filter system is adequate and the pollution fears are unfounded.

Devils Lake has more than tripled in size since a series of wet years began about 15 years ago.