Dry weather suspends boat rentals

The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department announced Sept. 1  that boat rental at the Griffy Lake boathouse is temporarily suspended because the lake bed is exposed in some areas due to low water levels.

“I think it’s down about three or four feet from where it usually is,” Alex Arnold, Griffy Lake boathouse leader, said.

Elizabeth Tompkins, natural resource coordinator for the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation, said low water near the boat launch caused the boat rental closures.

“The area between the boat launch and the bridge has just lost so much water that we can’t get boats through,” Tompkins said.

According to the National Weather Service’s website, Bloomington had summer temperatures about two and a half degrees hotter than normal. Bloomington also experienced slightly less rainfall than normal.

Despite the grim conditions on Griffy Lake, hopes remain high for boat rentals on Lake Monroe.

Dave Marshall, a manager at Lake Monroe Boat Rental said he believes Lake Monroe will be open for boat rentals until the end of the season in October.

Arnold said less people are coming to the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve because of the boat rental closure.

“On a good day, we could probably get 30 rentals or more,” Arnold said.

Boat rental hours are cut shorter during the month of September. During October, rental is only available on weekends.

Although boat rental brings in revenue, Tompkins said he believes the closure will have little financial effect.

“We had really great weather at the beginning of the season,” Tompkins said. “We feel confident that the short amount of time won’t have an impact on our revenue.”

Even though people can’t rent boats, they are still coming to enjoy the park.

“A lot of people came out, especially on Labor Day,” Arnold said. “This weekend a lot of people came out just to hike.”