Creating a new dive site

[AevnsGrandpa]

Where I live there are a number of city owned lakes that I think would make a good place to dive. Particularly, I live next to a park with a rock quarry that has filled up!

Has anyone been involved with a city and the process to get a lake ok'ed to dive in? Currently this lake you can fish in and take a small boat out in to fish but no swimming. The north side has some very good sandy areas that would make a good entry point.

What all would need to be done to a lake to make it 'scuba' ok? Since it has been a fishing hole for a number of years and a rock quarry before that, would you have to try and remove all the monofilament, or other junk?

I would love to see if this is a possibility since the closest place to dive now is about 70 miles away.

Jeff

 

[Rookie_J]

usually "no swimming" regulations are put in place by the local government, for liability reasons. hard to say how difficult it would be to have it reversed. is there a dive shop near you that might be interested in helping? it seems city rule makers feel a need to work to make the businesses happy.

i would research the laws and determine the actual liability portion. here in minnesota, if a property owner does'nt charge a fee, they are in no way liable for any injuries or property damage (more or less).


one of the dive shops in northern minnesota has done wonders working with their local city and converting an old mining pit to a wonderful dive place. maybe they could give you pointers?


http://www.tallpinescuba.com/


Good luck

 

[triton94949]

Scuba is normally permitted anywhere swimming is permitted. If NO SWIMMING is posted then the local county supervisors probably have a good reason, like a prior drowning, etc.

You would need to visit the offices of the county supervisors to find the details of the "ordinance" that prohibited swimming, and what caused it. Good luck with that. Public official are not usually amenable to changing regulations.

 

[Diver0001]

Where I live there are a number of city owned lakes that I think would make a good place to dive. Particularly, I live next to a park with a rock quarry that has filled up!

Has anyone been involved with a city and the process to get a lake ok'ed to dive in? Currently this lake you can fish in and take a small boat out in to fish but no swimming. The north side has some very good sandy areas that would make a good entry point.

What all would need to be done to a lake to make it 'scuba' ok? Since it has been a fishing hole for a number of years and a rock quarry before that, would you have to try and remove all the monofilament, or other junk?

I would love to see if this is a possibility since the closest place to dive now is about 70 miles away.

Jeff

You'll need to do two things first.

1) get a dialog started with the city about your idea.

2) get a dialog started with fishermen (if they're organized enough that this is possible) and local dive shops.

These are the other "stakeholders" in the game and sooner you get on the table with them the sooner you'll be able to get your options on the table.

I would think you have a good argument with the city due to the proximity issue. If they work like other municipalities I've seen then you'll be unlucky and they'll (most likely) want a plan so they can have their lawyers respond to it. Plans like this may involve setting off a designated dive zone, arranging (permanent?) supervision, limiting access to certain hours (or certain levels of divers depending on the dive conditions), risk management plan to manage liabilty exposure moving forward, emergency management plan etc. etc. etc. You may also have to prepare your dive area both above and under water by installing markers to mark dive area boundaries and to make safety enhancements like entry platforms etc.

I've been to a couple of places in Belgium that work with plans like this and it takes effort and organization but it does work. You also have to pay to dive there but that should have been obvious. Someone has to pay for the management.

In any case the first step is still talking to the city. If it gets formal then you'll also need to be organized beyond the individual level to represent divers in your area so you're sitting on the table as a stakeholder and not an individual. There are different forms you can consider but getting the local shops to organize in a sort of non-profit "foundation" to manage the site & plan would be a good option.

R..

 

[cmcarver]

Other options are try to setup a cleanup dive for the proposed site. If they see that there can be some good that comes from this for more than just the divers then there may be more enticement for them. With what Diver0001 said about only some of the lake being available for SCUBA but having an annual cleanup dive day for the whole lake or different parts each year may make the proposal even better. When talking with the city you will want to have some plans already made including rules, benefits, projected area of use, and possibly emergency plans. If they like phase one then you are going to need lawyers to get involved. Don't forget that not only dive shops, but also other local businesses such as restraunts, stores, and services are good to talk to and get backing from.