Water is down, and tourism is up: ‘Normal water level’ lakes and streams means busier summer in Ozark County
Times photo/Bruce Roberts A fisherman takes out his boat Monday at Theodosia on Bull Shoals Lake. Lake traffic is up this summer, thanks to less rainfall and lower than recent lake levels.
Times photo/Bruce Roberts A boater pulls a rider on a tube Monday near Theodosia Marina. Employees at area lake marinas and resorts say business is up this year because the lake is more accessible.
For the first time in years, the absence of a major spring flooding event has resulted in almost normal lake and river levels, which means big business for area outfitters and resorts on Ozark County waterways.
“We have to be in a drought situation before we even see close to normal lake levels,” said Mitch Cook at Theodosia Marina Resort. “And the lake is still five feet high.”
Cook said the more normal lake levels has really helped everyone on Bull Shoals Lake, including TMR.
“It’s been busy this summer. More like it used to be,” Cook said. “It’s all about access. When there are launch ramps that people can access, more people will be launching their boats and using the lake. We’ve had a busy summer so far.”
Cook said the Theodosia arm of Bull Shoals Lake has been abuzz with boaters.
“The Theodosia arm from here to Pontiac has been busier this summer than it is from Pontiac on down to the dam,” Cook said.
Cook said the marina, resort and Cookie’s Restaurant have all benefited from the hot and drier than normal summer.
On the North Fork of the White River, Stephanie Bade at Sunburst Ranch said they are also having a good year. “It’s still a decline from covid, but we are having a good year,” Bade said. “It’s been hot, and you can always cool off at the river.”
Bade said 2020 was a banner year for Ozark County’s waterways because of the pandemic. People were looking to get out of their houses and out of the city. “There was nothing they could do in town, and a lot of people wanted to get outside,” Bade said. “We had people coming in during thunderstorms wanting to float,” she said.
“This year and last year we didn’t have that big spring flood event, so our summers have been busier,” Bade said.
She said the spring deluges did help keep the river higher later in the summer. “It gets a little low sometimes, but we’ve been able to float. It’s spring-fed so there’s always going to be water.”
Bade said Sunburst Ranch just recently added a new store building to their property. “That’s really helped a lot, and our guests really are liking it,” Bade said.
Up the river at Pettit’s Canoe Rental, officials there said this summer has been good to them as well.
“It’s been hot, and we’ve been busy,” an employee who asked not to be named told the Times.
“Normal” summers have been few and far between for lake and river outfitters in recent years. Heavy spring rains have pushed lake levels to near flood stage in 10 of the last 15 years. For lake area resorts, marinas and outfitters, high water means less traffic.
“Again, it’s all about access,” Cook said. “If the lakes are up, and there’s nowhere to launch and nowhere to camp, it’s a killer for business.”
Cook said the lower campground at Theodosia is still closed, but there’s plenty of areas open.
Cook said more changes need to be made to accommodate the higher lake levels since the implementation of minimum flow in 2012.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s “minimum flow” rules were passed in 2012 and regulate a regular minimum flow from Bull Shoals Dam into the White River near Bull Shoals, Arkansas, to supply the White River trout population with constant cold water from the bottom of the lake. One of the byproducts of minimum flow is higher lake levels that back the lakes up in Missouri.
Other byproducts of minimum flow are flooded county roads in Ozark and other Missouri counties, typically in the spring, but sometimes lasting well into the summer.
Nearly every spring, Bull Shoals Lake backs up and floods County Road 863 in the Haskins Ford crossing area. In recent years, the lake has flooded an area further upstream known locally as the Steel Tracks area and caused considerable damage to county roads.
Technically, Ozark County was still in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, until recent rains just in the past two weeks lifted the county out of drought stage into the D0 zone (abnormally dry). Portions of Howell County to the east and Taney County to the west remain in the D1 moderate drought category. This, while central Missouri is in extreme drought and exceptional drought categories.