GRDA Update

January 12, 2021

Grand River Dam Authority Police Department

EMERGENCY 911 GRDA Police 918-256-0911

How to Deal with Boat Damage

Getting out on the water in your boat can be a uniquely enjoyable experience, whether you are planning on a day of fishing, a pleasure cruise or just a few hours of recreational sailing. All of that enjoyment can quickly evaporate if you find your boat is unexpectedly taking on water, and your hopes for a relaxing day quickly turns into a frenzied effort to save your cherished vessel.

There are many potential ways for a boat to become damaged, both in the water and on the shore. Some common causes of boat damage while in the water may include striking a submerged or fixed object, running aground, or a collision with another vessel. Mechanical issues can also result in a boat taking on water. There are also several ways for a boat to become damaged while on shore, such as a traffic crash, sinking on land if it is not placed properly on secure ground, or toppling, which can be caused by high winds or heavy snowfall during the winter.

Although sustaining damage to your boat can be frustrating and costly, there are steps you can take to help ensure proper notifications and documentation is made so repairs are made quickly to get you back on the water doing what you enjoy.

Make sure no one has been injured. If there are passengers onboard when the damage occurs, check on their condition, and promptly seek medical care for anyone who has been hurt. Take a quick head-count to make sure no passengers have been ejected. Call 911 or make contact with help on Marine channel 16.

Notify local authorities of the Incident. Boating crashes, as with auto collisions, should be reported to the authorities right away so an investigation can be conducted. The incident needs to be reported to police so the circumstances can be documented on a collision report, just like for a traffic collision. State law requires that any boat collision that results in injury must be reported, and your insurance company will need documentation of any damage, so call police so an officer can respond to investigate the incident when it occurs.

Secure the boat to prevent further damage. If the vessel is sinking, pull it out of the water as soon as possible. However, make sure you can do this safely. Never endanger your life or the lives of others when retrieving a sinking vessel. Authorities can assist you when needed, but the cost of a tow boat service is certainly worth it when you are trying to save your vessel from further damage after a collision or grounding.

Document the damage. Take photos of your damaged vessel with a smartphone or camera. If your boat has struck another vessel, also document the damage to the other vessel, and remember to obtain the other party’s contact and insurance information, boat registration and hull identification number (HIN#), if possible.

Be sure to notify your insurance company in a timely manner. They can help provide guidance on the proper steps to take to help protect your vessel from further damage as well as what you need to do to begin the process of restoring your boat.

Contact a professional repair company or marina. They may be able to provide damage mitigation services. Also, be sure to include your insurance company in the discussion from the earliest stages of mitigation/repair.

Remember, boat claims differ from other types of claims, particularly auto claims. They can be more complex and therefore, it is important to include your insurance company at the earliest stages of the claim. Some boats contain specialized parts that can increase the complexity of repairs. You must authorize the marina of your choosing to make repairs. Make sure you are comfortable with the marina you select, and inquire about warranties they offer before repairs begin. Unlike with vehicles, the boat repair process is often not as simple as dropping off your vessel at the marina and picking it up the next day.

Nesting Eagles Prompt Closure Below Pensacola Dam

New activity in an established bald eagle nest, located in an area below the Pensacola Dam main spillway, has prompted the Grand River Dam Authority to close access to the area, as it also did in 2020. The area will be marked by signage, advising the public of the nest and that disturbing it is a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which could result in a criminal fine of $100,000. A portion of the spillway area, popular as an off-roading destination, will also be closed to visitors to help protect the nest.

This is the same nest that was established last year. The GRDA Ecosystems and Watershed Management Department has been monitoring the nest and has confirmed it will again be an active nest this year.

Guidelines, established by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, recommend closing access around nests to allow for a buffer zone of 330 to 660 feet between the nest and public access, depending on exact locations and topography. The restricted area below Pensacola Dam is centered approximately three-quarters of a mile south of the main spillway. The new “nesting area/no trespassing” signage designates the closure in that area.

The public’s cooperation in obeying the signage and helping protect the nest was very helpful last year and we are seeking that same kind of cooperation this year as well.

For those interested in viewing the eagle activity below the dam, GRDA recommends doing so from the designated “Eagle Pass” area, located on the west side of the spillway channel. To access “Eagle Pass,” follow Broadway Avenue south out of Langley to N4475 Road, the road that runs below Pensacola Dam. Go east on N4475 until a bridge is crossed, then turn right (south) onto the dirt road, and follow it around to the eagle viewing areas.

Bald eagles will hunt small fish, often snatching them off the surface of the water or even stealing them from other birds. The best time to watch the birds feeding is early in the morning.

Signs have been posted (below) in the area that has been closed to public access due to the active bald eagle nest in the off-road area below the Pensacola Dam.

The below map shows the Eagle Nesting Area that is now restricted access.

SH-28 Closed at Pensacola Dam

All lanes of east and westbound SH-28 are closed at the Pensacola Dam between Langley and Disney until spring 2021. This is part of a $14 million project to improve three bridges on SH-28 at Grand Lake.

The official highway detour utilizes SH-82 and SH-20. Once work is complete at the SH-28/Pensacola Dam bridge in spring 2021, it will open to traffic and the two SH-28 bridges at the spillways will then close to traffic. The same highway detour will still be in place for this phase of the project.

We anticipate the bridge over the Pensacola Dam to be closed till March 17, 2021. Work will then move to the two spillways that will be closed till Memorial Day of next year. The overall project is expected to complete in summer 2021, weather permitting.

Ramp Rehab Projects

The GRDA Properties and Hydro Excavation crews are in the process of replacing two public boat ramps on Grand Lake. Barricades have been placed closing the boat ramp at the Cleora Mud Flats near the GRDA heliport, north of Red Arrow, as crews work to replace the ramp. Work at this site began on January 5 and is expected to be completed on January 26. The ramp will remain closed to public use during the rehab project.

On January 19, crews plan to move to the Duck Creek boat ramp near the SH 85 bridge to complete the ramp replacement project at that public boat ramp. The ramp will be closed for public use during that project, which is expected to be completed by February 9.

GRDA appreciates the public’s cooperation as this work is completed to improve our public access areas.

Maintaining the Beauty

of the Illinois River

It’s unbelievable how much effort goes in to keeping our public recreation areas clean and environmentally healthy, including the Illinois River. But our team at GRDA are dedicated to the cause. We wanted to share the accumulated totals of trash and recycling collected over the past five years (recycling efforts began in 2019).

Thank you Scenic Rivers Grounds and Float Crew members for your role in keeping this scenic area beautiful!

2020

Total trash - 66,680 lbs., recycling - 5,277 lbs.

2019

Total trash - 43,780 lbs., recycling - 4,063 lbs.

2018

Total trash- 44,820 lbs.

2017

Total trash- 49,098 lbs.

2016

Total trash- 51,050 lbs.

GRDA Services

Under the Executive Order of the Governor, we continue working under the Open Up and Recover Safely plan. GRDA maintains necessary services to the public under restrictions of Phase 3 of the plan.

All GRDA facilities remain closed to the public, including the Eco Center in Langley. Limited staffing operates at our facilities, including Eco, and all public meetings and events remain restricted with strict access control implemented at all GRDA facilities. The Pensacola Dam remains closed for public tours.

You can continue to do business with GRDA personnel on line and by phone. Many of our administrative personnel continue to be assigned to work at home or off-site and can be contacted by email and phone.

GRDA Police will allow permitted public events on GRDA lakes and properties. All permitted events must adhere to guidelines published by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

GRDA Police will continue participation at public information and education events under restrictions.

The GRDA Police Department will continue to follow procedures established by state and federal authorities to protect you and our personnel by maintaining personal distances. This may require that officers conduct investigations without personal contact, by phone and email. When officers do respond to a call for service, they may ask people to come outside; we will only enter your property if needed.

Our personnel may be wearing protective gear, such as masks, glasses and gloves. This is done to protect you and the officers from community spread. While community engagement is vital to us, it must take a different form when we are dealing with a contagious virus.

GRDA officers will be enforcing social distancing requirements. We ask that you adhere to protocols and guidelines published by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Even though the OURS plan is allowing more public gatherings, this pandemic continues to affect us in this region, so we will limit unnecessary contacts and respond to calls for service by doing more contacts by phone and prioritizing our responses. This may include the reduction of contacts for minor violations.

We have created a webpage on our GRDA website for up-to-date information on the COVID-19 virus outbreak. You can find this information at https://www.grda.com/grda-covid-19-information-page/

We will continue to maintain contact with you through electronic communication to keep our social distances appropriate. Please continue to invoke the strategies needed to maintain appropriate distances from other people, practice good hygiene by frequently washing your hands, protect your personnel and the public.

Our goal is to continue to provide the service you expect, but we must protect our personnel so that we can provide the assistance you will need in the future. We will do whatever we can to get through these challenging times.

U.S. Boat Sales Reached 13-Year High in 2020

With heightened interest in outdoor recreation activities and ways to social distance, consumer demand for new boats surged across the country in 2020. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), representing North American recreational boat, engine and marine accessory manufacturers, reports that retail unit sales of new powerboats in the U.S. increased last year by an estimated 12 percent compared to 2019. More than 310,000 new powerboats were sold in 2020, levels the recreational boating industry has not seen since before the Great Recession in 2008.

2020 was an extraordinary year for new powerboat sales as more Americans took to the water to escape pandemic stress and enjoy the outdoors safely. For the first time in more than a decade, we saw an increase in first-time boat buyers, who helped spur growth of versatile, smaller boats – less than 26 feet – that are often towed to local waterways and provide a variety of boating experiences, from fishing to watersports.

The following new powerboat categories drove record retail unit sales in 2020:

Sales of personal watercraft, including Jet Ski, Sea Doo and WaveRunner are estimated to be up 8 percent to 82,000 units in 2020; with accessible entry-level price points, personal watercraft are often considered a gateway to boat ownership.
Sales of wake boats—popular for wakesurfing, skiing and wakeboarding and attractive to new and active boaters—are estimated to be up 20 percent to 13,000 units in 2020.
Sales of freshwater fishing boats and pontoons boats, often sought for their versatility and entry-level price points and accounting for 50 percent of new powerboats sold in 2020, are expected to be up 12 percent to 143,000 units.

Boat sales are expected to remain at historic levels in 2021 as manufacturers continue to fill a backlog of orders from 2020. Pandemic-related supply chain constraints curbed powerboat production and shipments for several months in 2020, which are expected to subside and restore marine manufacturing to normal levels this year. Additionally, social distancing measures are likely to continue well into the latter months of 2021, spurring additional interest in safe outdoor recreation activities including boating.

We expect consumer interest in boating to remain strong through 2021 and beyond, with millions of Americans discovering the mental health benefits and joys of being outside and on the water.

Do You Need Current Lake Information?

Go to the GRDA Storm Ops web page to get current data including lake levels, lake parameters, storage details, flow conditions and much more.

stormops.grda.tech/riveroperations

Did You Know?

Keep in touch. Communication devices can be the most important piece of emergency equipment on board a vessel, especially in case of emergency. Be sure to have at least two communication devices that work when wet, such as satellite phones, emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRB), VHF radios and personal locator beacons (PLB). Cell phones are not reliable in an emergency situation.

GRDA Buoy Guide

"Updates" on the Web

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NAV TIME

A Summary of Boating Laws, Navigation Regulations & Tips

That All Boat Operators Should Know

Wake Damage

All vessel operators shall be held responsible for any damage that their wake might cause to property. No person shall operate or give permission to operate a vessel in a wake zone at a speed which is other than reasonable and prudent and which shows due regard for the existence of actual or potential hazards and obstacles, or in such a manner as to endanger the life, limb or property of any other person, or in such a manner as to create a wake. "No wake zone" means any area posted with buoys or within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any boat ramp, dock, pier or anchored or moored vessel.

Boating Tips From

Americas Boating Club

Grand Lake

A better boater is a safer boater. Every day, people are discovering that even a bad day on the water is way better than a good day anywhere else. So, it’s important we all work together to keep each other safe while we’re having the time of our lives. Boat with confidence by improving your boating skills with courses from our club online or in the classroom.

America’s Boating Club on Grand Lake is a unit of the United States Power squadrons. We would like to invite you to join us. Our goals are to keep learning, teaching, laughing and helping our fellow members and the boating public get the most out of boating. We also enjoy serving the Grand Lake boating community by providing free vessel safety checks, loaner life jackets stations at various locations around the lake and helping with shoreline clean-up.

For more information visit americasboatingclub.org or usps.org/grandlake; on Facebook: America’s boating club-grand lake

Are you interested in joining a boating club on Grand Lake to have fun, plus the opportunity to take courses online or in the classroom to improve your boating skills and knowledge? Visit online americasboatingclub.org or usps.org/grandlake, on Facebook: America’s boating club-grand lake for more information.