CSSP Needs Help

[BillP]

Clear Springs Scuba Park needs your help, and I’m hoping that I can count on you Texas Swamp Divers to pitch in. As you may know, the CSSP property has been in owner Debbie Cameron’s family for generations. The lake on the property (an old flooded quarry) has clear water and is full of life so Debbie and her husband Robert decided to develop the site as a scuba destination (to the very great benefit of us all!) It is obvious that she loves her inheritance and she very much wishes to keep it as close to its “natural” state as possible. Of course they also want their venture to be a commercial success and they recognize that certain compromises like parking, shelters/picnic tables, docks, fill station, training platforms, and other training aids are mandatory if they want divers (particularly lucrative dive classes) to use their facility. But they want to add as little man-made “improvements” as possible. The lake underwater is truly beautiful “as-is” IMHO, and as an clean, alive, creature-filled, clear-water dive destination it is absolutely unique in North Texas.

Unfortunately (IMO) there are some divers (whom I’ve been known to refer to as “trashmongers”) who don’t appreciate the natural beauty of the lake and aren’t satisfied with what Mother Nature has provided. They are pressuring Debbie and Robert to sink manmade junk in the lake like you see at the more-or-less “dead” scuba parks. I can understand that if your lake is lifeless you need to sink something in it for divers to see, but that’s not true of CSSP. CSSP is alive and doesn’t need rusting buses, crumbling motorcycles, and silt covered hot tubs to be interesting.

CSSP has sunken a boat, a shark sculpture called Sisco, and a fake alligator already, and apparently they’re about to sink an airplane. Yeah, boats are indeed found in the water and ever so often one sinks- I don’t really have too much of a problem with that. Sisco is kinda artsy and fun and as a really big hollow tube, it provides some minimal overhead experience for properly trained divers or supervised students. I haven’t seen the alligator, but if it was done well it might be OK too. But further additions to the lake should be considered VERY carefully IMO. Some people have become accustomed to diving on Coke machines, hot tubs, washing machines, and Clint Eastwood’s mother’s ’69 Cadillac when they dive freshwater and they can’t imagine doing anything else. They’re pressuring Debbie and Robert to make CSSP more like their competitors that have such “attractions”. Well, I CAN imagine something different and support Debbie and Robert’s vision and would like to see CSSP compete by being different from its competitors rather than being just another junkhole. If you like diving rusting buses, rotting houseboats, and deteriorating airplanes- then go for it! There are places nearby for you to do that. But if you support CSSP’s owners’ desire for a beautiful and natural appearing scuba destination in North Texas then let them know it! When you see them, tell them that not all divers have to always dive on junk.

Just my 2¢,

Bill

If you want to see (or join in) discussions on the subject on CSSP’s website, go to:

http://www.b2g3.com/boards/board.cgi?&user=clearspringsscubapark

 

[Dee]

I love the natural features of a lake. Maybe it started out as a rock quarry or a sand pit but for whatever reasons and for all intents and purposes, it's a natural body of water.

We're having the same problems at Twin Lakes. One of the first things we are asked is "What's there to look at?" I admit I have been tempted to rudely tell them to open their eyes and look at nature. We already have an old school bus which has been there for enough years that it's over grown with plant growth and part of the life cycle down there. However in the last couple of months, some of those divers needing entertainment underwater, have torn the back door off the hinges, peeled the growth off the top, and ripped out some of the cabinetry on the inside. And let's not forget the permanent graffiti scratched into the surface of the bus' metal roof. Thank you very much, fellow divers.

The two boats that were positioned in shallow water for the benefit of swimmers and snorkelers as well as divers, have also been torn up and treated in a similar fashion. It's no longer a nice attraction to take new divers to, it's an embarrassing example of some peoples inability to refrain from destruction.

Like Bill, a few boats that possibly could have been sunk naturally are OK. But coke machines, hot tubs, etc. is just trash. What's the attraction to seeing silt covered junk? Instead, I'd rather see the introduction of more native fish, turtles, and mollusks. To me, that would be worth watching.

Bill is more elequent than I at expressing himself about a subject I know he feels so strongly about. I don't have the restraint he does so I'll leave this as is except to say, I'll do what I can to influence Mike not to trash up Twin Lakes. And if the opinion from someone who won't dive in CSSP often will count for anything, I'll certainly sound out from here. I'll be sure to pass along my thought this weekend.

 

[Zagnut]

If I wanna dive in an underwater trash heap, I'll stay around here and jump in Lake Lewisville.

CSSP is too far to drive to dive in a bunch of junked out crap!

I say, "LEAVE IT ALONE!"

I sure hope they don't ruin it... if people wanna look at underwater crap, let'em go to Athens.

 

[Detonate]

CSSP is more of a training dive site than anything else in my mind.

I'm all for them expanding it to include more opportunities for training.

I'd love to see a few more overhang enviroments there. I'd also like to see some sort of simulated dive platform in above one of the underwater platforms to train boat exits and entries.

 

[paulintexas]

haven't been to CSSP yet (hopefully going this Sunday or the following Sunday) so a few questions:

-> how large is it? is it big enough to have 1/2 the area with "man made junk" to look at, and the other 1/2 left alone?

-> what is the annual traffic through the site now and what is the hope by adding the new dive 'sites'?

 

[TexasMike]

paulintexas once bubbled...
how large is it? is it big enough to have 1/2 the area with "man made junk" to look at, and the other 1/2 left alone?

Per the Clear Springs website the surface area of the lake is 22 acres. The direct answer to your question is "yes, it is big enough to sink a bunch of stuff at one end, and leave the other alone."

But the problem is that the lake is one big ecosystem. Anything "bad" added to one end of the lake will affect all other parts of the lake. And we all know that harming one point in an ecosystem will snowball through the rest (for example, if we added a foreign aquatic plant that the fish didn't eat, and eventually took over, choking out the good plants).

One of my passions is diving on ship wrecks, so having a site where I can practice that would be a neat thing. Especially since CSSP has the depth and area (say near Robert's silo) to put a sizable small vessel in where we could practice wreck diving skills.

BUT I do see the other's points. CSSP is one of the better locations for us North Texans to dive where we can explore natural underwater topography and see several native fish species. Plus it's cool to have the 40-50 feet of depth along the SE edge. And have the fish follow you around.

what is the annual traffic through the site now and what is the hope by adding the new dive 'sites'?

Traffic info I don't know. And by new 'sites', do you mean new attractions at CSSP or brand new locations across Texas?

If by locations, there are probably several good candidates. But as Debbie and Robert can tell you, it takes significant capital to start up and keep the site running. Not to mention all the time Robert spends out there on maintenance and doing improvements. And let's not forget the insurance, which by itself can be a huge annual expense.

Have you got a spot for a new dive park in mind?

 

[Detonate]

I really hope they sink that plane, or another larger vessel below the thermocline where the water is nice and clear.

 

[Catch22]

Debbie and Robert seem to have a handle on the situation, but it wouldn't hurt to let them know your preference the next time you are out there.

After the plane is sunk, I would like to see maybe one other item sent down. Save the other changes for the top-side.