CAMBRIDGE, OH Officials with Ohio State Parks are working to accommodate 2005 dock leaseholders at Salt Fork Lake in Guernsey County as water levels are lowered.
As a precautionary measure, dam safety engineers with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) began a 5-foot drawdown of the lake on June 13 after seven boils (watery soft spots) appeared near the outflow channel, about 500 feet downstream from the lake’s earthen dam. ODNR expects the lake to reach its draw-down level within three weeks.
“The goodwill of our seasonal lease holders is very important to us,” said Dan West, chief of Ohio State Parks. “We are contacting these boaters to let them know we are doing everything possible to keep them informed of the options available to them.”
Currently, 403 of 458 docks are leased at the lake’s two state-owned and privately managed marinas: Salt Fork on the southeast side and Sugartree on the north side.
Water depths at Sugartree Marina are expected to show a marked decline much earlier than those at Salt Fork Marina. As a result, lease holders at Sugartree Marina are now being permitted to transfer their boats to open docks at Salt Fork Marina on a first come, first served basis.
According to Mark Ogden, administrator of the ODNR Dam Safety Program, the boils detected last week are possibly unrelated to a similar soft spot that was discovered on the dam’s toe in February and repaired with a sand and gravel berm.
Daily updates concerning water levels and facilities at Salt Fork State Park are available by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE or by visiting ohiodnr.com on the Internet.
While the current drawdown affects use of Salt Fork Lake, Salt Fork State Park still offers plenty of outdoor recreational opportunities, including an18-hole golf course, resort lodge, cottages, campground and trails.