The boat-launching ramp at General Burnside Island State Park was closed Monday because the lake water had receded about 10 feet below the end of the concrete.
Corps officials say as the water level falls three and a half more feet to the destined 680 feet above sea level by February 12, only one launching ramp in Pulaski County may be in the water.
But there’s hope that some of the ramps will be extended for use during the seven years while work is underway to repair ailing Wolf Creek Dam.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to get $2 million from the federal government in the near future to extend some 10 boat ramps and widen parking areas to make a drastically lowered Lake Cumberland more accessible to boaters and fishermen.
The lake level at 6 a.m. yesterday was at 683.63 feet. At this level, the end of the boat-launching ramp at the Burnside state park was high and dry. A yellow ribbon tied halfway across the launching area warned potential boat launchers of the sharp drop-off onto dry gravel at the end of the concrete.
“We’re trying to get a handle on that right now,” responded Craig Shoe, resource manager for Lake Cumberland, when asked about the number of boat ramps still usable when the lake level is lowered 43 feet below the tree line.
“It looks now as if Lee’s Ford (Marina and Resort) will be the only ramp usable (in Pulaski County),” said Shoe. Lee’s Ford spokesmen have expressed fear that their ramp will be overwhelmed with boaters trying to get in the water. They have asked for assistance in expanding their parking area.
The lake level is rapidly falling toward the 680 mark to ease pressure on Wolf Creek Dam, the massive earthen and concrete structure that has been classified as a high risk of failure.
The falling water level is already beyond the reach of most of the 48 ramps on the lake. Shoe said the Corps is working on the ramp at Waitsboro Recreation Area to see what can be done. Considerable rocks and sediment are at the end of the Waitsboro ramp and Shoe expressed doubt that it can continue to accommodate boats.
According to Peoples, the $2 million the Corps is trying to get has not yet been approved for use. He expects confirmation in the near future that the money will be available.
Chris Gilligan, communications director, Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, reiterated yesterday that the Lake Cumberland situation is ‘high priority” for Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
“The governor has authorized us to look for every bit of money we can find to assist in (approving accessibility) to Lake Cumberland,” he said.
Gilligan said said the Department of Commerce is working with the understanding that only eight of the 48 boat ramps on Lake Cumberland will be in the water when the lake level reaches 680. He indicated the Corps is trying to get money to improve 10 ramps, making a total of 18 ramps usable lakewide. There may be money from other sources to extend additional ramps.
A spokesman in Congressman Hal Rogers’ office said the new budget that President Bush presented to Congress Monday contains $54.1 million for the second phase of the repair work on Wolf Creek Dam. Some $51 million is in the current budget but this apparently has been used on a grouting contract awarded to a Canadian firm. Total cost of repairs to the dam is estimated at $309 million.
Local News
Related Photos
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Lake Cumberland has receded to the point that the boat-launching ramp at General Burnside Island State Park has been forced to close. The water is some 10 feet beyond the end of the ramp and the yellow ribbon warns boaters that the ramp is not usable. Bill Mardis photo
Watered down
General Burnside boat ramp is now closed
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Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
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He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
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The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
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