LAKE PLACID LAKE BED UPDATE

To All of Our Lake Placid Property Owners; During the period while the lake is down before and during the dam repairs, there are a couple of very important items we would like to stress with regard to maintaining the lakebed. As many of you are probably aware from observing the lake bed in front of your homes, the vegetation can take over very quickly. In several areas, such as upstream of I-10 and downstream of Son’s Island, the vegetation is already 8-10 feet in height (see pictures) in some places after less than a year. Pictures of Lake Dunlap two years after the lake went down (attached) show trees at least twice that tall. GBRA has informed us that they have NO plans to participate in removing this vegetation even though it would clearly be a navigation hazard, could impact flooding and could potentially interfere with dam repairs. We are told that it will be up to lake front property owners and organizations such as CULP to clear vegetation, debris and other potential hazards while the lake is down. For these reasons, we strongly urge property owners to keep the vegetation on the lake bed in front of their property, out at least 50’ (or to the water line), trimmed up. Once it gets several feet tall, such as shown in the attached pictures, heavy equipment will be required for removal and disposal. The expense associated with this removal will be borne by lake front property owners, either directly or through CULP and other neighborhood organizations. Either way it comes out of YOUR pockets! Of course, there are areas not easily accessed by individual property owners, such as the area noted above, where group cleanups will be required. CULP will be organizing periodic cleanups while the lake is down, not only to remove vegetation, but also to address debris, trash and other eyesores or hazards. Once the temperatures start dropping, we are planning a cleanup this fall using volunteers such as your selves. We have already contacted waste removal companies to help us with the cleanup and will hopefully be able to negotiate reduced rates. We urge any of you who have good contacts with these companies, or who might be able to provide equipment for vegetation and debris removal to contact any one of the CULP Board members as soon as possible. Otherwise we will look forward to a great volunteer turnout from property owners and other friends of Lake Placid. So keep posted! Another area that needs to be addressed by each of us is the building of temporary structures on the lakebed such as ramps for launching small boats, temporary docks, and decks. While these structures help us enjoy the river while the lake is down, a flood event such as that of October 2021, would likely wash these structures downstream potentially damaging other property and interfering with dam repair operations. For this reason, please make sure that these structures are well secured either to the lake bed, large trees or other permanent structures. I don’t think any of us want to damage their neighbor’s property or to cause dam construction delays. We greatly appreciate your attention to these issues during these tough times. CULP will continue to keep property owners notified of any developments in the construction schedule just as soon as we have reliable information. We all are frustrated by the delays, but we are all in this together, so it’s critical that we work as team until we once again have a lake.