What's with Blue Hole????

[scubajoh44]

I called Blue Hole (Santa Rosa, NM) to make sure they were gonna be open this weekend (Ap 15) and they will be but they told me that the state police just dredged up the bottom again and that visibility was bad. First of all, why do they keep doing this? Second, does anyone know how long it will take to get descent vis back? Third, what about Perch Lake? Anyone know know what the temp in Perch is right now? I'm taking someone why just finished OW and want the experience to be fun. Should we just wait or will it be ok by then? Thanks for the tips.
Jo

 

[amascuba]

They are dredging the BH to help get rid of some of the silt. It won't take *too* long to clear up with all the water flowing through it.

A couple weekends ago (first weekend in april) I was at Perch Lake and the water temperature was chilly. It was 53 degrees at the air plane and 48 degrees at the car. I was wearing a drysiut, hood, gloves and my lips went numb because that was the only part of my body exposed to the water. With the nice weather the last couple weeks it may have warmed up a bit though.

 

[ABQdiver]

From what understand, its all part of the grand scheme to get the bottom leveled out and avoid the collapse of the mound. Also some prep work for the proposed opening of the cave system at some point in the future. The work is being done by the Corps of Engineers and the State Police.

The city of Santa Rosa has some pretty big plans in store for the hole if all gets worked out. From site renovations like more picnic areas, paving to a pool, showers, changing rooms and ultimately a convention center. I don't get the convention center, but then again.........


We are planning to go over the 23rd, so I'll report if things have changed greatly.

 

[scubajoh44]

Wow! I had no idea they were planning to do so much stuff there. Stella mentioned that they were building here a new building, but that's all I've heard. Cool.

I'm going to be there THIS weekend. Does anyone know if vis will be descent by then? I called and they said it was only a foot or two on Tuesday. I'm planning on going Saturday.

Thanks for the info!
Jo

 

[ABQdiver]

It takes a few days 3-4 to clear out since they really make a mess!!
Hopefully, it won't be to bad by the time you get there.

Watch out for the mud and fish poop in the parking lot!!

 

[scubajoh44]

I called about 8:00 Friday before we were supposed to leave. The said they had just done something else and that is was going to be closed for "awhile." It sounded like it was a YOUNG girl that I talked to so I'm not sure what is going on there but she did say that visibility is supposed to be really bad for a long time and that it would be closed about half the time for the next year......call before you go! Anyone know what they are doing there now?
Jo

 

[ABQdiver]

The cleaning finished up about 10am on Friday, and OF course, it was mucked up pretty badly.

Here is a report from some folks that went last weekend.

Ken and I dove BH last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and indeed the vis was horrible Saturday as the hole had been worked on the day before, so you could not even see from platform to platform. Sunday was much better, and in fact we did a couple of deep dives just to see what the State has been doing down there. It appears as though several more rocks/boulders have been removed from the bottom and sides of the hole, creating what appeared to be a larger area at the very bottom. There is still a bit of trash at the bottom and Sunday was not very busy at all as far as divers go, and we figured it was probably because of the Easter holiday.

We plan on going over on this upcoming Sunday if you're game! Should be normal by now!

 

[robint]

from what I understand, they will be dredging every week, during the week, until June. Then the hole will be closed for at least the entire month of June while they "fix" it up. So if you are planning to go over on weekends, make sure it is open. I expect it to be ugly at best......... Perch may be a better choice for the next several months. And who knows what they will "fix"..... last time they fixed things up they only made it worse (adding the snorkel over the grate has made the vis much worse in my opinion as it has re-routed the inward flow).
In theory, the new convention center, changing rooms, dive shop, classroom, & restaurant sound great..... but what kind of mess is all that construction going to make for the next couple of years?!!?? They also say they are going to build a separate "pool" area for training. Great idea in theory, but Blue Hole is a natural formation dependent on slabs of rock with a natural spring flowing under and through it. How stable is it going to be if they start drilling, digging, and rearranging rocks?
I am very hopeful of all these changes but very wary also.

Just my 2cents.

robint

 

[scubajoh44]

hmmmm..... it will be interesting to see what the "final" work is going to be like. Assuming there will eventually be a "final" work. lol. Anyway, doesn anyone know when they usually do the work in it? Would it be better to go during the week, or on weekends? I just don't wanna drag a newbie 4 hours and then it really suck. How bout renting wetsuits and tanks? Is that still gonna be available for a while? Thanks for all your tips and info!
Jo

 

[ABQdiver]

I've heard the same June schedule as well, Monday through Friday. This leaves the weekends pretty crappy viz for the most part.

I like it that changes are being made. But, with changes come inconvenience.

If the road work down the South side was any indication, then the changes will likely take a lloooooonnnnnngggggg time.


Stella is still there and has all the same gear for rent. You might want to call ahead just to be sure.