High water raises water skiing fears on Deer Lake

Living on Deer Lake isn’t exactly a rough existence but there are times when you have to roll up your pant legs and get your feet wet.

How else are you supposed to sweep the slime off a submerged dock?

Beginning next week, the lake will be open to water skiing and local residents are putting out a friendly appeal to the public in the hopes that people may be willing to delay any plans to hit the water and make waves  for just a little bit longer.

Lake levels are unusually high for this time of year and residents are worried that heavy wake from ski boats will cause damage to some properties, such as those with bulkheads or beaches, said Curt Gordon, a lake resident.

To help make the point of just how high the water level is, he volunteered a few cool toes for a picture of him sweeping the slime from neighbor Roger Simmons’ dock.

Simmons said it’s not unusual for the water level to get high during the winter but it usually recedes by the time people hit the water for a little bit of spring-time fun in their boats.

“I’ve seen it higher than this but never this late,” Simmons said.

At one point in March, the water was rising about one inch per day. It has since begun to recede but at a much slower rate of only about two inches in the last 10 days, he said.

Simmons couldn’t say for sure what the problem is but it may be tied to an outflow pipe. He wondered if it might be clogged or is just insufficiently sized. Whatever the case, he said he hoped people would be understanding.

“It would be nice if people waited a bit longer,” he said.

 

Contact South Whidbey Record Island County Justin Burnett at jburnett@whidbeynewsgroup.com.

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