I'm not thrilled about that either..
Aquarena Closing to Dive Volunteers?
- Thread starter rakpix
- Start date
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I thought the local and/or state historic preservation folks would have jumped in on saving the giftshop. In Dallas they would have been all over it by now and erected the plaque.
driftwood
Contributor
That is one I have not heard. I will be sure to ask Thursday.
Bottom line is that the University, Aquarena Center or the USFWS can shut down the lake anytime they feel like it. Couple problems with that idea. First, it would be very hard to sell DFS class's and they do need the money. They probably make around 30K a year from the class's.
Second, hard to justify using the Training Area for OWC's if the lake is closed to diving and AC gets $60 from each student. Call it another $50K hit to their income. Have to find another source of funds to replace those two.
Third, I have been told by several people that when the University purchased the property, they were required to continue the glass bottom boats tours. You need divers to maintain sites like Deep Hole, Riverbed, Catfish Hotel, Ossified Forrest and Arch Site so people have something to look at besides plants. Get rid of the volunteers, and you have to hire additional staff.
Can they close the lake, absolutely. Will they close it, not likely.
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driftwood
Contributor
I talked with one of the staff this morning. Right now the Corps of Engineers has the demolition of the buildings scheduled to begin this fall. The same information was in the San Marcos newspaper. Apparently when the Corps begins the work they will take control of the park from the time work begins till it is finished. The work will take at least 6 months to complete and it is unlikely that divers will be permitted in the lake during that time.
We all know how government projects can be delayed and the fall start up is in no way close to being set in stone.
We all know how government projects can be delayed and the fall start up is in no way close to being set in stone.
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OP
so, during the demolition volunteer divers will be prohibited from diving spring lake. but are we sure that after the demo is done, the program will recommence? i'm imagining some sort of quagmire where the corps of engineers take six years to remove a couple concrete pillars and metal shacks, during which my diving-for-science cert is useless 
driftwood
Contributor
so, during the demolition volunteer divers will be prohibited from diving spring lake. but are we sure that after the demo is done, the program will recommence? i'm imagining some sort of quagmire where the corps of engineers take six years to remove a couple concrete pillars and metal shacks, during which my diving-for-science cert is useless
Given your concerns, I would wait for the Corps to finish the job. I am not going to hang by the neck waiting for the project to start. It is still all rumors and until there is a signed contract there are no changes in the current situation.
If the Corps get around to doing this and shut down Spring Lake for the duration, volunteers will be needed more than ever. It will be a veritable jungle underwater.
driftwood
Contributor
Arch Site will be fun to try and find again. That one is written in stone. The best shot will be to look for the big T post and start from there. The two shallow humps into/out of Ossified Forrest will take John and me around 10 minutes to clear again. Reestablishing a passage from Arch Site to Deep Hole, call it 30 minutes. Cream of Wheat and Catfish Hotel will do just fine without our help. Riverbed will take around 4 dive hours to clean up. Ossified Forrest is always a mess, you might not even notice the changes. Clearing the run from the Dock to Catfish for the DFS class will take a couple hours or so.
Deep Hole will be a challenge. The big high pressure springs will just shrug it off. The gravel riverbed to the north will take some time and the clearing southwest arm will be a zero vis dive. Personally, I would leave the middle arm congested. It is just a place for folks to get suckered into thinking they are going to Arch Site.
Not as big a project as you would think. Call it 30-50 dive hours by people who know what they are doing. If we start the job in the month of August, cut the time by a third or half depending on spring flow (the lower the better for this type of work)
On the very bright side, there will be a chance to relocate the two "subs" to other lakes for wreck dives. The Training Area will have a completely different feel to it once the "sub" is gone. Also, we may get rid of the big ugly pipe that is covering up Diversion. That will be one very cool place to dive with the pipe removed.
Lake Travis Scuba
Contributor
I had the opportunity to dive Spring Lake in July 2005 for my Diving For Science course when the Diversion pipe was removed for repair and it is a very cool spring. I had the video camera and got video of the open hole with divers looking into the high flow.
driftwood
Contributor
That was the last time the cap/pipe was removed. I would love to see it go away.
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