DEVILS LAKE (AP) - The assistant state Water Commission engineer says the Devils Lake outlet is being started up again, though at a very low level.

Todd Sando said recent rain has helped increase the flows in the Sheyenne River, and officials plan to run the outlet at only 3 percent of its capacity.

"We started it up this morning," commission engineer Bruce Engelhardt said Friday. "We have to be somewhat conservative because we don't want to violate the permit."

Sando said the sulfate levels in the Sheyenne continue to be the main factor in determining how much the outlet can operate. He said the state Water Commission is still waiting for a decision from the Health Department on renewing the operating permit.

The $28 million outlet sends Devils Lake water into the Sheyenne, which drains into the Red River. It has run for only about 80 days since its start in August 2005.

The Red empties into Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg and Manitoba officials worry about the transfer of harmful material. State officials say the Canadian fears are unfounded.

Engelhardt said Devils Lake has been "bouncing up and down" around an elevation of 1,447 feet.

"We had a pretty good rain south of the lake last night," he said Friday. "The rain was more in the Sheyenne Basin than in the Devils Lake Basin, and that's pretty much what we need."