Aquarena update, anyone?

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Wow - could be going under the control of the UN..... odd times.

Hand over control to a bunch of foreign politicians who hate America and
Americans? Woah that's crazy. As if the UN would manage it more
responsibly. Bah to the UN. They might as well burn the constitution
while they are at it.
 
---------- Post Merged at 12:56 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:48 AM ----------

I would have certainly lived by it if I had the chance, it is beautiful there.

Reliable water was important but not as important as it is for us. Visit the site and knapping tools, we find the flakes all the time (especially at Arch Site). "Live" there, I don't think so. Lot better places downstream with more pecan trees and game that are out of the flood plain.
 
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The last info on Aquarena's website is from 6/19, when they were lifting the second sub out of the water. Anybody know what they're doing now?

Since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) currently has jurisdiction of Spring Lake, I called their Dallas district office (about a month ago.) The COE Spring Lake project manager said she would get an update and call me back. She did so about an hour later, after having spoken to the COE site superintendent at Spring Lake, and explained the following to me:

The restoration is complete and cleanup has begun, but the COE PM is waiting for the overgrowth (aka grass) to "take hold." She said she was told the grass was taking hold nicely, but the COE wants to be sure the grass makes it through the winter. Assuming it will, she estimated releasing Spring Lake back to Aquarena Springs about mid-March.

However, I heard from her and a couple of Austin instructors the only future diving that will be allowed will be done by Scientific Divers, of which I am one. No more scuba classes. I think this is an Aquarena Springs rule change, not COE.

I'll post any updates as I get them. Time for another call to the COE, I guess.

akeegan2
 
Hi all - any new news on this subject? Waiting patiently for the volunteer diver program to resume, though I was really hoping for this winter!
 
I was by there a few weeks ago. Maybe Feb, maybe March for the volunteer divers is what I heard. No functioning compressor....at least not yet. The site looks great, though. Ultimately this could be a really good thing for aquarena.
 
Any word if and when they are going to start back up the Dive For Science classes so we can become volunteer divers?
 
Just talked to the Army Corps of Engineers in Dallas. The Spring Lake project manager told me they are waiting for the grass coverage to reach 95% before they can release the lake back to Aquarena. It's currently at 75-80%. She also said that given the current growth of the grass, she expects the April - May time frame.
 
Aquarena shared this article on Facebook about the restoration project "expected to be completed this spring"

Habitat restoration at Aquarena Springs wraps up

Has one quick mention of the need for the Diving for Science program ... "Dive crews routinely have to do underwater gardening to keep the lake bottom clear."


Quoting from the Fox piece,

"Accounts from early settlers tell us that the springs that fed this lake were so powerful fountains of water shot into the air. The reason why that no longer happens is why the research being done here is so important."

I guess that they didn't think about the level of the lake being closer to the current level of the San Marcos River. Let's think about what the lake would look like without a dam. Figure Deep Hole being less than 20' deep, Riverbed a foot or two deep, then I can see the high pressure spring at Diversion causing a major surface disturbance.


 
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