Lake Powell bans houseboats?

[DrunkenSailor]

This article isn't clear but it states that the park has banned houseboats. Anyone able to confirm?

Lake Powell curtails houseboats, starts extending boat ramps amid drought, low water levels

Boating at Lake Powell is getting more difficult by the day as drought continues to take its toll behind Glen Canyon Dam. Here's the latest:

www.thespectrum.com

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

This article isn't clear but it states that the park has banned houseboats. Anyone able to confirm?

Lake Powell curtails houseboats, starts extending boat ramps amid drought, low water levels

Boating at Lake Powell is getting more difficult by the day as drought continues to take its toll behind Glen Canyon Dam. Here's the latest:

www.thespectrum.com

From what I understand they have banned Houseboat launching at Wahweap, not banned them from the lake.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

From the article:

And on Saturday, the park banned houseboats on the lake and asked owners to retrieve their vessels as soon as possible

 

[HCP3]

South Powell almost closed

News Release: July 17, 2021 Effective immediately, no houseboats may be launched from Wahweap Main Launch Ramp due to low lake levels. Houseboat retrievals remain possible utilizing the boiler plate temporary extensions. Boaters are advised that at the current rate of water loss, only 60 feet of...

www.riverdavesplace.com

 

[McKay]

From the article:

And on Saturday, the park banned houseboats on the lake and asked owners to retrieve their vessels as soon as possible

Article is mistaken. Many houseboat owners don't have a slip or a mooring ball. They launch and retrieve on all their trips. Word from the parks is you will not be able to retrieve at Whaweap soon.

 

[2Driver]

Another reporter with no experience on the subject matter informing the world.

 

[TVMNick]

Not a houseboat ban from the lake, just simply that they cannot allow houseboats to be launched and retrieved at the Wahweap ramp at this time until other provisions are made.

I know they are planning to do everything they can to maintain access to the lake despite the lowering levels.

 

[DUNEFLYER]

I have had a house boat on Powell for 20 years (launch/retrieve from Page) we have been told they cant launch us prob for the rest of this season. The houseboats in a slip or on a mooring ball will have the lake to themselves. Just the ramps are closing due to low water, they are not closing the lake. No fuel at Dangling Rope will limit how far up lake they might want to go but there will be less boats and lots more beaches with the lower water so this should work out well for those who can use their houseboats.
I wonder what the percentage of boats stored on the water compared to the launch boats might be?

 

[92562]

I am told that ARAMARK and the Bureau of Reclamation are working to rehab the original ramp which is between Stateline and Wahweap ramps. It is smaller but steeper at low water levels and could be useable even if the water drops another 30 feet or more. Mine is in a slip but we usually pull it out from November to March. Hopeful we will be able to because we are swapping generators this year and that would be a PITA in the slip.

 

[Boat 405]

They are going to rehab the auxiliary state line ramp. The auxiliary ramp is good down to 3450. Thats another 100’ down from today.

Not sure they will be able to launch houseboats from that ramp.

 

[Boat 405]

They wrote it that way on purpose. Crazy statements that are misunderstanding and get peoples blood pumping.

They easily could have said they are closing Wahweap ramp to launching houseboats due to low water conditions.

 

[Racey]

With the idiots we currently have managing our water resources it could be gone sooner
than you think.

The problem is the water rights have been legally distributed, so nobody is going to voluntarily give up their water.

This isn't necessarily water rights owned by the states, many of these are water rights held by private property owners, farms etc. This makes the BoR is legally obligated to deliver the water.

The only way this gets fixed is to renegotiate these rights. Gonna be a huge clusterfuck, because unless you can blanket get everyone to take a 20% cut, some people are gonna think they are getting screwed while others are getting more water, blah blah blah....

Blaming it on global warming is way easier than opening that can of worms.

Someone should FOIA the water deliveries made by the BoR over the last 40 years.

 

[mesquito_creek]

Every time I hear about Lake Powell being "lost", I have to pause and ask what exactly does that mean?... Because the other most important function Lake Powell performs is flood control. There will come a day when the upper colorado water shed has so much water and snow pack that without Glen Canyon people are saying that we are prepared to topple every dam down stream and flood the entire lower colorado flood plane...

There will be a different Lake Powell for sure if the drought continues, but the hyperbole needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Anyone seen what's going on in Germany in regards to flooding? Supposedly they are the smart ones with the best engineers. Mother nature has a different opinion!

 

[2Driver]

They wrote it that way on purpose. Crazy statements that are misunderstanding and get peoples blood pumping.

They easily could have said they are closing Wahweap ramp to launching houseboats due to low water conditions.

I had to check…

The reporter works for the Ground Truth Project and just moved to St George from NBC Boston MA, prior was Reuters covering climate change and LGBTQ and before that in New York for Huff post.

 

[McKay]

Every time I hear about Lake Powell being "lost", I have to pause and ask what exactly does that mean?... Because the other most important function Lake Powell performs is flood control. There will come a day when the upper colorado water shed has so much water and snow pack that without Glen Canyon people are saying that we are prepared to topple every dam down stream and flood the entire lower colorado flood plane...

There will be a different Lake Powell for sure if the drought continues, but the hyperbole needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Anyone seen what's going on in Germany in regards to flooding? Supposedly they are the smart ones with the best engineers. Mother nature has a different opinion!

This! While I’m sure there is some mis-management going on, the lake is doing exactly what is suppose to do. Provide water in low years of severe drought and add a buffer to stop flooding in wet years. All the recreational users think this is the end of lake powell. Recreational use of lake powell and mead is a long way down the list of importance for Colorado water storage. And yes I’m I love powell and go 5-8 times a year. Been having great trips this year. Headed back tomorrow for a week.

 

[mesquito_creek]

This! While I’m sure there is some mis-management going on, the lake is doing exactly what is suppose to do. Provide water in low years of severe drought and add a buffer to stop flooding in wet years. All the recreational users think this is the end of lake powell. Recreational use of lake powell and mead is a long way down the list of importance for Colorado water storage. And yes I’m I love powell and go 5-8 times a year. Been having great trips this year. Headed back tomorrow for a week.

In terms of boating and recreation, the only question is will the NPS get it's shit together and find a way to provide access as the lake continues to recede during the extended drought. I am not hopeful knowing that all stake holders can't agree on anything. DE WATER stateline and set another 50 feet of ramp. Move everyone to stateline and do the same at Wahweep main. Lather, rinse and repeat as many times as necessary. Concrete cures just fine underwater....

 

[Happy Smitty]

CNN style article...

"Please be aware that due to the ongoing effects of climate change-induced drought"

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

This! While I’m sure there is some mis-management going on, the lake is doing exactly what is suppose to do. Provide water in low years of severe drought and add a buffer to stop flooding in wet years. All the recreational users think this is the end of lake powell. Recreational use of lake powell and mead is a long way down the list of importance for Colorado water storage. And yes I’m I love powell and go 5-8 times a year. Been having great trips this year. Headed back tomorrow for a week.

I'll be heading there too where are you camping? We're staying close to wahweep this trip. If you post a pic of your boat I'll keep an eye out for you.

This is me if you see me wave or come stop by camp for a beverage of your choice. By that I mean beer, soda, water, or any easy cocktail.

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

In terms of boating and recreation, the only question is will the NPS get it's shit together and find a way to provide access as the lake continues to recede during the extended drought. I am not hopeful knowing that all stake holders can't agree on anything. DE WATER stateline and set another 50 feet of ramp. Move everyone to stateline and do the same at Wahweep main. Lather, rinse and repeat as many times as necessary. Concrete cures just fine underwater....

This is what I'm trying to wrap my head around is why are they working on an aux ramp instead of stateline itself. Then like you said swap the closure.

 

[mesquito_creek]

I'll be heading there too where are you camping? We're staying close to wahweep this trip. If you post a pic of your boat I'll keep an eye out for you.

This is me if you see me wave or come stop by camp for a beverage of your choice. By that I mean beer, soda, water, or any easy cocktail.

For all the talk about drought... Monsoon has been pretty good this month. Caught about 20 minutes of rain on my security cameras again today. So have your camping rain plan on high alert!

 

[grumpy88]

I agree with you. I have a friend who waters 3 acres of alfalfa to feed about 6 head of cattle here in northern Utah. He cuts 3 to 4 times a yr and his water runs near non stop from May until Oct. What he doesn't use he sells off for $9 bucks a bail. He has water rights passed down from his grandfather. My point is just because he has the rights to it does not mean he should use it. 82% of Utah's water is being used for agriculture. That's great if it's being used to supply the masses. But when one guy is using astronomical amounts for his own benefit something is wrong with the system and it needs to be changed. One of my issues with water managers is there is no regulation on growth. Washington County, (St George Utah) is off the charts. Golf Courses and residential yards with kentucky blue grass everywhere. They do nothing to promote desert landscape, and some cities in Utah will fine you if you try. They're fucking idiots. Utah water is some of the cheapest in the nation with residents paying a small one time fee for as much as they can use. It should be metered with tiers to determine price. You use lots of water, you should pay out the ass for it.

No thanks . I will keep a free society

 

[mesquito_creek]

This is what I'm trying to wrap my head around is why are they working on an aux ramp instead of stateline itself. Then like you said swap the closure.

I think that stateline is challenged by a cliff that drops off about at the end of the dock area... I know I was out there floating around and thinking my depth guage was out of wack.. but I think it about 90 feet deep about 50 feet off the end of the docks. My guage was fine, but its like antelope in that manner.

I think the Aux ramp has the right grade to facilitate reasonable access as the lake receeds. SO GET AUX working!!!!

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

I didn't even suspect that.

 

[mesquito_creek]

I didn't even suspect that.

I think stateline is already nearly out to these steep contours on the bathymetry map. That little inlet is high and dry....

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

Wow. That's quite interesting

 

[kurtis500]

Water is low all over Utah. I took my cruiser to my Utah home hoping to use Rockport, Echo and Jordanelle. Echo has been closed and Rockport is about too. The snowpack this year was the worst in history until mid January. Just a bad year for runoff.

 

[Good Stuff]

I was listening to KSL radio just this morning. They spoke with a current Utah water manager who spelled it out quite clearly. The water resources of the Colorado River have been gravely mismanaged. States depending on the Colorado River have failed to acknowledge the warnings over the last 20 yrs and now people and industries are going to suffer the consequences. If drastic changes are not made he believes Lake Powell will be lost and that releasing water from reservoirs up stream like Flaming Gorge is nothing more than a band aid buying us little time.
Difficult decisions need to be made sooner than later. Sadly i think the lake is destined to be embroiled in never ending law suits between the 7 dependent states. By the time that is over there will be nothing left.
I have been House boating out of Bullfrog for more than 20 yrs. I have seen the steady decline and it's absolutely heart breaking. We sold our Houseboat a yr ago thinking that we would eventually buy into a new one. But I watched a video the other night on Utube. The guy was driving a pickup in areas of Bullfrog Bay that were 30' under water just a year ago.. It was almost unrecognizable. Our old houseboat and slip have been pushed out so far that there is nearly a bridge to the rock formation behind it.
Meanwhile the good folks in St George Utah are building a pipeline to pump water from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow. Uh maybe they're not keeping up on current events!!!
If Lake Powell is on your bucket list you might want to push it up sooner than later. With the idiots we currently have managing our water resources it could be gone sooner
than you think.

They need to stop trying to boost the “Green Energy” levels by flushing reservoir water to make electricity.

 

[Letsride22]

They need to stop trying to boost the “Green Energy” levels by flushing reservoir water to make electricity.

Or how about this?

On-going experiment in high-volume CO River releases from Glen Canyon Dam set | Arizona Department of Water Resources

Science is all about experimentation, and one of the more spectacular experiments in the movement of Colorado River sediment is set to begin in a matter of days.Beginning November 5, the Department of Interior will begin a High-Flow Experiment (HFE) release of water out of Glen Canyon Dam...

new.azwater.gov