Yesterday afternoon I packed up the kids and headed for Lake Texoma. In addition to working at the Biological Station all summer I have been the fill-in bartender at Pelican’s Landing at Cedar Mills Marina during the busy season. Bartending was my full time job several years ago before I went back to school, so it has been fun to revisit that temporarily. My boyfriend, Brian, has worked there for about 5 years and drives down every weekend (we have a little place to stay next door to his parents).
All summer I have been watching as the sandy beaches along the shoreline have expanded farther and farther out in the water due to the drought. The tow boats have been busy, boat after boat becoming stuck on sandbars that would normally be too deep to cause a problem (a HUGE 58 foot yacht was beached for a week before being pulled out and severely damaged). Marinas are recommending that owners remove their boats from the slips or risk them being stuck as the water continues to drop. Needless to say the heat, along with the dropping water levels, has impacted business around the lake.
It was not until I arrived at the marina around 5pm yesterday that I learned of the blue green algae alert issued just hours before. The Army Corps of Engineers issued warnings that prohibit body contact with the water from Treasure Island all the way west to the Red River. The rest of the lake is on alert also and contact is discouraged. From the second I walked into the restaurant customers were eager to ask me about the situation knowing that I work at the Biological Station. The main question that everyone had was if it was actually dangerous or if this was an overreaction to nothing. I was able to explain the situation and fortunately most people have heeded the warnings. Unfortunately, this has caused most people to head home and has only made a bad situation worse.
Still, there are those who assume that because they cannot see the problem that it must not exist. Today there were parents pulling children on tubes behind boats in water that is considered dangerous. Although there will always be those who feel invincible, I see this as a failure on the part of the Army Corps and the media to effectively communicate the proper information to the public. This is similar to the situation at Grand Lake over the 4th of July weekend when the same warnings were issued and emergency rooms filled up with people who ignored the warnings and went swimming anyway. Somehow the national and even local news can find the time to describe Kim Kardashian’s wedding dress in vivid detail, but when it comes to an issue of public health there is little more than a two sentence passing thought. I should go on to say that this is not only a defect of the media but also a reflection of the priorities of our society.
I will continue to keep my children and myself out of the water as I have done all summer. No algae for me. But, if by some chance of fate bull sharks make it into the lake, I will be the first one here!!!!
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