Water high quality questions stay at Canyon Lake after flooding; officers warn of hidden particles

CANYON LAKE, Texas – As households return to Canyon Lake after final week’s flooding, officers say the most important concern will not be water high quality — it’s what might be hiding beneath the floor.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Canyon Lake, advised KSAT it doesn’t conduct water high quality testing following flood occasions. Instead, the company is urging guests to be accountable by swimming solely in designated seaside areas, carrying correctly fitted life jackets and utilizing warning round flood particles.

Officials additionally advocate avoiding stagnant, murky or foul-smelling water.

Many guests on the lake mentioned they weren’t overly involved.

“I feel like I didn’t see much of a difference, just a little more murky,” mentioned 12-year-old Hilson Tucker.

When requested if that bothered him, he replied “no.”

His father, Ross Tucker, mentioned he checks for any official alerts earlier than bringing his household to the lake.

“It hasn’t concerned me too much,” he mentioned. “I do check to make sure there are no alerts out before we come to the lake, and Canyon Lake is not putting out any alerts. I feel like it’s safe.”

Businesses on the lake additionally stay open.

Frasier McNew, who operates Jet Ski Dude, mentioned the Corps of Engineers oversees the recreation space and would shut it if situations have been thought-about unsafe.

“No, no we wouldn’t be allowed to be open,” McNew mentioned. “The whole park would be closed. The corps, they oversee us directly, they would be shutting us down.”

McNew mentioned after final yr’s flooding, there was extra particles. After final week’s flooding, it hasn’t been a lot of a problem, mentioning that it’s clear sufficient to see your telephone in case you drop it within the water.

“Last year, there was a bunch of wind — it kept all the debris in one place until it slowly sank,” McNew mentioned. This yr, there wasn’t that a lot wind, so they really unfold out all through the lake a bit bit.”

KSAT has additionally reached out to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority for the most recent Canyon Lake water high quality testing outcomes and continues to be ready for a response.

Farther upstream, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority mentioned preliminary testing discovered micro organism ranges at most Upper Guadalupe River websites in Kerr County have been throughout the state’s leisure normal and in keeping with pre-flood situations.

Even so, the company continues to advise folks to keep away from swimming in Kerrville and to make use of warning all through the river, as a result of murky water and flood particles can disguise harmful hazards.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which conducts routine water high quality monitoring each 4 months, says it plans to check Canyon Lake subsequent week. Until then, the company recommends folks stay conscious of particles and different hazards that may linger after main flooding.

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