08-13-2004, 08:44 PM
[font "verdana,arial"][size 4]LAKE MEAD: Marina might have to move[/size][/font]
[font "verdana,arial"][size 2]Contingency plans drawn up as water levels continue to sink because of drought[/size][/font][url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/rjstaff.html#City%20Desk"][size 1]By HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL [/b]
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[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/news.jpg"]![[Image: news1.jpg]](http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/news1.jpg)
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The walk to the dock has grown longer, but the boating conditions are as good as ever, according to Paul Chandler Jr., general manager of Overton Beach Marina at Lake Mead. The National Park Service is seeking input on plans to move the lake's northernmost marina next year, should the water level continue to drop.
Photo by [url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/webextras/gallery/gurzinski/gurzinski.html"]John Gurzinski[/url].
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/mead.jpg"]![[Image: mead1.jpg]](http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/mead1.jpg)
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Carl Martinez, left, and Dan Coletti relax on their houseboat in its covered slip at Lake Mead's Overton Beach Marina. They said they would follow the marina if it is forced to move next year because of the falling water level at the lake.
Photo by [url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/webextras/gallery/gurzinski/gurzinski.html"]John Gurzinski[/url].
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/meadgraph.jpg"]![[Image: meadgraph1.jpg]](http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/meadgraph1.jpg)
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Click image for enlargement.
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[/b]Forget the drought. Paul Chandler Jr. says it's media coverage of the falling water level at Lake Mead that has really hurt business at the marina he manages on the lake's Overton Arm.
All the publicity has given people the mistaken impression the lake is nearly empty and too dangerous for recreational boating, Chandler said.
That's why he is reluctant to even talk about the National Park Service's contingency plans for moving the Overton Beach Marina into deeper water, perhaps as much as 10 miles south of its present location.
Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, doesn't blame him. "Every time there is a low-water story, the marina operators lose business," she said.
But there is no denying that the lake is shrinking, and if it continues to drop at its present rate, the Overton Beach Marina could be forced to relocate sometime next spring.
The water level now sits at less than 1,126 feet above sea level, down almost 100 feet from its high water mark. By June, it could fall below 1,113 feet, according to the latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Chandler insists he still has plenty of room left at Overton Beach, but park officials fear anything below 1,114 feet could leave the cove too shallow to support the lake's northernmost marina operation.
"As a contingency, they have to consider the what-ifs," said Chandler, a second generation marina manager who has worked at Lake Mead since 1974. "Our idea is to stay here. We are not planning a move."
"It's the last thing any of us want to do," said Jim Holland, park planner for the recreation area. "It raises tremendous logistical concerns."
The park service is soliciting public comment on the development of an environmental assessment for the possible move. Until Sept. 1, written comments can be sent to: Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005.
Holland said three key factors will be used in selecting a new marina site: the availability of safe harbor, the proximity to utilities, and the ability to provide public access and parking.
One spot that seems to fit the criteria is Stewarts Point, about five miles south of Overton Beach. Another is Echo Bay, about 10 miles south of Overton Beach and already home to the Echo Bay Marina.
Any move that might occur would be temporary, Holland said, which is key since Overton Beach Marina would have to leave its shore-based convenience store and probably its RV park behind.
Several million dollars in improvements have been made at Overton Beach. Chandler said that since he was hired as general manager in 1996 the marina has installed a state-of-the-art fueling facility, refurbished 57 existing slips, and added 130 more, all of them covered. Another 38 slips are now being built.
"It's probably the nicest marina on the lake," Holland said.
Dan Coletti and Carl Martinez certainly think so. The two are partners in a local custom home business, and they have been coming to Overton Beach Marina with their families 15 to 20 times a year for the past 12 years.
As they sat on the deck of their 75-foot houseboat Thursday, relaxing in the shade of slip number 224, they said they have no plans to change that routine, no matter where Overton Beach Marina might end up.
"It's the best marina on the lake," Martinez said. "There's no doubt we'd follow them wherever they go."
Low water conditions at Lake Mead have already chased Lake Mead Cruises and the Las Vegas Bay Marina, now called Las Vegas Boat Harbor, to new locations in Hemenway Harbor.
Dey said the lake's initial drop to 1,180 feet cost the park service about $6 million. The impact from each 20-foot drop after that is expected to cost $6 million more, as roads, utility lines and boat ramps are extended to reach the receding water.
What some researchers are calling the worst drought to strike the West in 500 years has also caused Lake Powell to shrink to 41 percent of capacity.
Lake Mohave, on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam, has been spared the effects of the drought. Its elevation is artificially controlled by water released from Hoover Dam for use in Arizona, California and Mexico.
If Overton Beach Marina does have to move, Lake Mead Marina could be next. Holland expects contingency planning for that move to begin next summer.
Messages left for the manager of Lake Mead Marina were not returned.
So far, Chandler said the only real drought-related problem at Overton Beach is that the walk from the dock to the convenience store has gotten longer. "The boating experience is better now than it's ever been," he said.
It's certainly no worse, Coletti and Martinez said, though the falling lake level has changed the number and location of submerged rocks, sandbars and other boating hazards.
"If you're a regular, you know the area. If you're a newcomer you should be cautious anyway," Coletti said. "If you use due caution, it shouldn't make any difference at all."
Holland notes that even at 54 percent of capacity, North America's largest man-made body of water still provides more than 100,000 acres of water for recreation.
When it is at "full pool," the lake is surrounded by 700 miles of shoreline. "But even with a 40-year low, we have 500 miles of shoreline," Dey said. "It's a huge lake."
Chandler just hopes that message doesn't get lost in all the bad news. "The media coverage is far more detrimental to our business than the actual drop in water," he said. "I have no complaint with the rise and fall of the water. I have no doubt that it will come back up."
As proof, he points to a photograph that hangs on the wall of the marina's convenience store. It was taken in 1983 and shows the old marina store at Overton Beach. The building is sunk up to its eaves in the swollen lake.
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[font "verdana,arial"][size 2]Contingency plans drawn up as water levels continue to sink because of drought[/size][/font][url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/rjstaff.html#City%20Desk"][size 1]By HENRY BREAN
REVIEW-JOURNAL [/b]
[/b][/size][/url] [font "Verdana, Arial"][size 1]
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/news.jpg"]
[/url]The walk to the dock has grown longer, but the boating conditions are as good as ever, according to Paul Chandler Jr., general manager of Overton Beach Marina at Lake Mead. The National Park Service is seeking input on plans to move the lake's northernmost marina next year, should the water level continue to drop.
Photo by [url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/webextras/gallery/gurzinski/gurzinski.html"]John Gurzinski[/url].
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/mead.jpg"]
[/url]Carl Martinez, left, and Dan Coletti relax on their houseboat in its covered slip at Lake Mead's Overton Beach Marina. They said they would follow the marina if it is forced to move next year because of the falling water level at the lake.
Photo by [url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/webextras/gallery/gurzinski/gurzinski.html"]John Gurzinski[/url].
[url "http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-08-Sun-2004/photos/meadgraph.jpg"]
[/url]Click image for enlargement.
[/size][/font]
[/b]Forget the drought. Paul Chandler Jr. says it's media coverage of the falling water level at Lake Mead that has really hurt business at the marina he manages on the lake's Overton Arm.
All the publicity has given people the mistaken impression the lake is nearly empty and too dangerous for recreational boating, Chandler said.
That's why he is reluctant to even talk about the National Park Service's contingency plans for moving the Overton Beach Marina into deeper water, perhaps as much as 10 miles south of its present location.
Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, doesn't blame him. "Every time there is a low-water story, the marina operators lose business," she said.
But there is no denying that the lake is shrinking, and if it continues to drop at its present rate, the Overton Beach Marina could be forced to relocate sometime next spring.
The water level now sits at less than 1,126 feet above sea level, down almost 100 feet from its high water mark. By June, it could fall below 1,113 feet, according to the latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Chandler insists he still has plenty of room left at Overton Beach, but park officials fear anything below 1,114 feet could leave the cove too shallow to support the lake's northernmost marina operation.
"As a contingency, they have to consider the what-ifs," said Chandler, a second generation marina manager who has worked at Lake Mead since 1974. "Our idea is to stay here. We are not planning a move."
"It's the last thing any of us want to do," said Jim Holland, park planner for the recreation area. "It raises tremendous logistical concerns."
The park service is soliciting public comment on the development of an environmental assessment for the possible move. Until Sept. 1, written comments can be sent to: Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005.
Holland said three key factors will be used in selecting a new marina site: the availability of safe harbor, the proximity to utilities, and the ability to provide public access and parking.
One spot that seems to fit the criteria is Stewarts Point, about five miles south of Overton Beach. Another is Echo Bay, about 10 miles south of Overton Beach and already home to the Echo Bay Marina.
Any move that might occur would be temporary, Holland said, which is key since Overton Beach Marina would have to leave its shore-based convenience store and probably its RV park behind.
Several million dollars in improvements have been made at Overton Beach. Chandler said that since he was hired as general manager in 1996 the marina has installed a state-of-the-art fueling facility, refurbished 57 existing slips, and added 130 more, all of them covered. Another 38 slips are now being built.
"It's probably the nicest marina on the lake," Holland said.
Dan Coletti and Carl Martinez certainly think so. The two are partners in a local custom home business, and they have been coming to Overton Beach Marina with their families 15 to 20 times a year for the past 12 years.
As they sat on the deck of their 75-foot houseboat Thursday, relaxing in the shade of slip number 224, they said they have no plans to change that routine, no matter where Overton Beach Marina might end up.
"It's the best marina on the lake," Martinez said. "There's no doubt we'd follow them wherever they go."
Low water conditions at Lake Mead have already chased Lake Mead Cruises and the Las Vegas Bay Marina, now called Las Vegas Boat Harbor, to new locations in Hemenway Harbor.
Dey said the lake's initial drop to 1,180 feet cost the park service about $6 million. The impact from each 20-foot drop after that is expected to cost $6 million more, as roads, utility lines and boat ramps are extended to reach the receding water.
What some researchers are calling the worst drought to strike the West in 500 years has also caused Lake Powell to shrink to 41 percent of capacity.
Lake Mohave, on the Colorado River below Hoover Dam, has been spared the effects of the drought. Its elevation is artificially controlled by water released from Hoover Dam for use in Arizona, California and Mexico.
If Overton Beach Marina does have to move, Lake Mead Marina could be next. Holland expects contingency planning for that move to begin next summer.
Messages left for the manager of Lake Mead Marina were not returned.
So far, Chandler said the only real drought-related problem at Overton Beach is that the walk from the dock to the convenience store has gotten longer. "The boating experience is better now than it's ever been," he said.
It's certainly no worse, Coletti and Martinez said, though the falling lake level has changed the number and location of submerged rocks, sandbars and other boating hazards.
"If you're a regular, you know the area. If you're a newcomer you should be cautious anyway," Coletti said. "If you use due caution, it shouldn't make any difference at all."
Holland notes that even at 54 percent of capacity, North America's largest man-made body of water still provides more than 100,000 acres of water for recreation.
When it is at "full pool," the lake is surrounded by 700 miles of shoreline. "But even with a 40-year low, we have 500 miles of shoreline," Dey said. "It's a huge lake."
Chandler just hopes that message doesn't get lost in all the bad news. "The media coverage is far more detrimental to our business than the actual drop in water," he said. "I have no complaint with the rise and fall of the water. I have no doubt that it will come back up."
As proof, he points to a photograph that hangs on the wall of the marina's convenience store. It was taken in 1983 and shows the old marina store at Overton Beach. The building is sunk up to its eaves in the swollen lake.
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