The Lake Havasu Marine Association announced a dredging project to ensure that "the best boating in the Southwest with more than 60 continuous miles of lake and river waterways" remains intact.
Pending final approvals, the project would create a half-mile-long navigable channel at the northern tip of the lake where boaters enter the Colorado River and Topock Gorge. It is scheduled to begin in December.
"Boater access from the lake into the river has been a safety issue for years," association executive director Jim Salscheider said in a statement. "Over time, silt and sediment have been deposited, creating extremely shallow water throughout the area, causing many boaters to run aground and, in some instances, resulting in serious accidents. It's time to take action and alleviate that problem."
The dredging project is a privately funded venture, and the money to complete the approval process has been raised.
"We anticipate that the entire project will require $50,000 in funding," Salscheider added. "With the generous help of our local boating industry and motivated community, we have raised half that and we are confident that we can reach our goal and begin this project on schedule in early December."
It is anticipated that the new deepwater channel will take about two to three weeks to complete. It will be marked with permanent no-wake buoys.
