Safety Message from the RRSP

Brian,

I just wanted to let you know that while patrolling this weekend, I noticed the northwest side of Lake K is an area boaters should be extremely cautious when nearing the shoreline or Rock River.

The channel markers and the buoy marking the rock pile are missing. Adding to the problem is the water has become home to many rocks and logs. We have the side scanning sonar and could see many of these on the bottom. I also noticed the depth of the water quickly changes from 4' to 2' without warning. This area was known for the rock piles, sholes, submerged grasses, and junk. It now appears to be much worse.

The shore line in the N. Vinnie Haha area looks to have the worst damage from what I could see. It appears that a 3-5' deep x 15-30' width (depending on what you would consider normal waters edge prior to floods) wedge of land was removed from the shore line.

In it's place, the water left debris in the same way a tornado would leave behind.

It also exposed a number of concrete septic boxes that were below ground prior to the floods. There is one section that has the concrete coffin-like boxes right up the shore, house after house. The water was so strong that it looks like the lids were torn off and in some cases destroyed the d-box altogether.

It is an area that always contends with heavy wave action, but seems to have the least shore protection. What little was on the shore appears to be strewn about on shore or missing altogether.

It will be wise for boaters nearing land to assume the missing rock that acted as rip-rap material prior to the flood is now pulled out into the water along with the land it once sat on.

Ryan Peterson, Officer on the RRSP