Some Wappapello recreation areas reopen

WAPPAPELLO LAKE, Mo. -- Several recreation areas at Wappapello Lake reopened Thursday, after flooding shut down all campgrounds and boat launch areas for several days.

Access to the Bill Emerson Memorial Visitor Center is open on the north side, where Route T crosses the dam. The area below the dam is also open now, said Park Ranger John Daves. Both areas are only open during daylight hours.

People are also now able to launch boats from the Sundowner parking lot, but parking is limited.

The People's Creek Upper Campground reopened, but on a first come, first served basis. No reservations are being taken.

Other areas will open as soon as lake levels fall and clean up and repairs can be done. The lake had reached 393.5 feet by 7 a.m. Thursday.

"Things are changing day by day," said lake operations manager Cindy Jackson. "It's hard to know what the damage is because everything is still underwater."

Jackson believes the Spillway Recreation Area will open by Memorial Day. The Redman Creek upper area is without sewer service at this time, but may be operational by June 1.

"Memorial Day activities will still happen, it just may not be as much (as normal)," Jackson said.

Recreation areas will be able to open much more quickly with community assistance, she said.

"We are not going to have any available funds to hire students in the summer," Jackson explained. "That is mainly what we use for cleanup like this. We are looking for volunteers and would like to get things cleaned up as quickly as the water falls. It's easier to clean then."

Wappapello Lake has already seen how quickly the community can rally. More than 250 volunteers assisted with the construction of a sandbag wall to keep water from topping the emergency spillway while a temporary dike was built.

Volunteers can register by calling the operations office at 573-222-8562.

The Greenville Recreation Area will likely be the last to reopen, Jackson said. It will take the longest for water to fall there and the corps expects the area will need extensive cleanup.

The first corps-operated boat ramp to emerge will be at Redman Creek, when the lake reaches a level of 384 feet.

The road to this area was destroyed when the emergency spillway overflowed, Jackson said, and no decisions have been made at this time on how to repair that damage.

"The next boat ramp comes out in the 370s," Jackson said. "We believe we will be there by mid-June."

Wappapello Lake is expected to reach a recreation pool of 359.74 feet by July 1, if there is no more significant rain.

Butch Barrett of Barrett's Marina said boat traffic is starting to pick up now.

"Not too many people wanted to go out when water was going over the spillway because they were scared of current, but we've had calls today of people wanting to put their boats in for the season," he said, adding fishing has been very good for the past few days.

Discharge is at 10,000 cubic feet per second now. This would normally be reduced when the lake reaches a level of 380 feet, but Jackson believes the corps may ask for permission to deviate from this plan while water levels downstream permit. This would keep the lake from remaining near flood stage for an extended period of time.

The boat races normally held in May and the Army celebration scheduled for June have been canceled. The youth fishing event may be held if another location can be found, Jackson said. This event is done in coordination with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The corps hopes to have the Greenville Recreation Area open by mid-September for Old Greenville Days.

"We know that's an important event for that area," Jackson said.

Route D is expected to open when the lake level falls below 389 feet.

Every effort will be made to keep the public informed of operations at the lake, according to Jackson. Residents can get information by calling the office.

Public meetings will also be held, with the first May 24 in the Wappapello Lake area and another May 26 in the Greenville area. Locations have not been announced. Additional meetings will be scheduled later.

Pertinent address:

Wappapello Lake, MO