GROVE, Okla. — The Grand River Dam Authority said with the first big boating weekend of the year coming up, the conditions are dangerous out on Grand Lake with debris littering the water.
The debris and flooding has caused roads to close down and homes to flood, and is threatening business for their biggest weekend of the year.
Shangri-la Marina is almost inaccessible on foot.
GRDA police gave 2 Works for You reporter Chris DiMaria a tour of the marina and pointed out people wading through water where they’d normally be able to drive. It’s flooding like this that’s filling surrounding streets and forcing several businesses to close down.
Officials say they hope it doesn’t drive down tourism, but expect out-of-town visitors to be wary about coming to the lake this weekend.
"This is the first time for a lot of people to be back, so there’s a lot to think about,” said Justin Alberty, VP of communications for GRDA. “We certainly don’t discourage them from coming, but we want them to take some added precautions because there are added risks.”
Those risks include debris in the water - logs from upstream easily big enough to tear off a boat’s motor. GRDA urges anyone on the water this weekend to be careful, and avoid boating at night when you won’t be able to see that debris until you’re on top of it.
That debris has also ripped away channel markers and no-wake zone buoys, so make sure to watch where you’re going if you do go out this weekend, and as always, wear a life vest.
