‘Super low’ lake doesn’t scare off some

“A lot of people are not coming ... that makes it better for the rest of us.”

Ray Weber make the comment in the parking area above the launching ramp at General Burnside Island State Park. It was raining and Weber was waiting for the shower to stop. His family was seeking shelter from the rain in the SUV that pulled his pleasure boat from Cincinnati to Lake Cumberland.

“This will be my first time on the lake since they lowered the water level,” said Weber, operator of an Angilo’s Pizza franchise in Cincinnati.

Weber is very familiar with Lake Cumberland. His parents, Ray and Rachel Weber, have a home at Lake Cumberland Resort off Ky. 751.

“We usually come down four or five times a year,” said the younger Weber, but Thursday was the first opportunity he has had this summer.

The word around Cincinnati is that the water in Lake Cumberland is “super, super low,” Weber said.

But he knows better. His parents keep him posted on the condition of the lake.

“The ramps are not crowded now ... parking lots are not full. That makes it better,” he remarked.

The spacious parking area above the extended boat-launching ramp at the Burnside state park was about half full as the Webers waited to launch their pleasure craft. Many of the cars, SUVs and trucks in the parking area bore an Ohio license plate. Obviously the “Ohio Navy” still bivouacs on Lake Cumberland.

Rumors about the lake being “super low” grew out of publicity that Wolf Creek Dam, the massive earthen and concrete structure that impounds Lake Cumberland, has been classified as being in high risk of failure. The Corps of Engineers in January lowered the lake 43 feet to ease pressure on the ailing dam.

Despite the drawdown, there is still a lot of water in Lake Cumberland. At its current 680 feet above sea level, it covers 37,000 acres, making it the third largest lake in Kentucky.