By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
When boaters wake up Tuesday morning, they’ll find only one boat ramp available to access Lake Amistad.
Amistad National Recreation Area Superintendent Chris Ryan told The 830 Times Friday that the boat ramp at Diablo East would be closed beginning Tuesday morning due to the low water levels at the lake.
He added that the boat ramp at Rough Canyon would still be open for use by boaters. He also added that as of now the ramp at Diablo East would still be open this weekend.
“The ramp at Diablo East will not be accessible at all by boaters beginning Tuesday. Hopefully by us putting up the signs and letting people know ahead of time they’ll know not to try and launch their boats from there,” Ryan said. “We just did an assessment of the boat ramp out at Rough Canyon and we found we will be able to keep it open much longer due to there being about 50 more feet of boat ramp we can use.”
People that use kayaks or canoes on the lake will still be able to launch, but motorized vehicles will not be able to.
The ongoing drought has taken its toll on Lake Amistad. According to a post on the ANRA’s official Facebook page, the lake dropped two inches from Tuesday to Wednesday this week and more than a foot from last week. As of this morning, the lake level was at 1,053.55 feet and was 31.5 percent full according to the International Water Boundary Commission.
“We anticipate it will be very busy. People should expect longer wait times to launch their boats since it will be the only boat ramp open in the park,” Ryan said. “We are trying to take advantage of the lower levels. We’ve added nine more concrete sections to one side of the ramp at Rough Canyon.”
Ryan said the lake is expected to host a fishing tournament this weekend, but he wasn’t sure how the announced changes would affect future tournaments scheduled on Amistad for this year.
“Our main concern is safety … the safety of boaters and their vessels,” Ryan said. “We will be assessing the boat ramps on a regular basis and, of course, the weather is something we continue to monitor. If we get an opportunity to open up we will do so as much as we can.”
Ryan said that having boat ramp open was still better than not having any boat ramps open, but while people can still launch from other closed ramps using kayaks or canoes or any other non-motorized vessels, he reminded anyone on the lake to use caution.
“People out on the lake are reminded that they’re boating at their own risk. We urge people to stay along the buoy lines as much as they can because that’s where the water is the deepest,” Ryan said.
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