Buoys help boaters navigate lake safely

Five new red and green buoys were installed on Lacamas Lake earlier this month, with the aim of making navigation through the channel easier and safer for boaters.

Deputy Todd Baker with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit said preparation and installation of the buoys, anchor chains and shackles included assistance by volunteers from the Portland-based Sea Scouts organization.

“Kids from the base put the anchor systems together, and the county parts department loaned us a hydraulic chain cutter to speed the process,” he said.

Baker hopes the buoys will help boaters navigate the channel safely, to the main water body and back again, without hitting the rock shoaling.

“Boaters should remember ‘red, right, returning to harbor’ (boat ramp) to be on the correct side of the buoys,” he said. “Green will be on the right going out from the ramp to the main body of water and red on the right coming back.”

The new buoys replace a set that wore out and broke free.

To keep the new buoys around a bit longer, they will be removed from the water prior to Monday, Sept. 19, when Georgia-Pacific is scheduled to begin its annual tradition of lowering the lake’s water levels for dam maintenance. During the draw-down, water levels reduce by approximately 6 feet to the 5-foot level.

The Lacamas Lake Cleanup, traditionally held during the drawdown, is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. G-P will begin refilling the lake on Oct. 31.

The buoys, Baker said, will be returned to the lake in the spring.

The total cost of the buoy project was $700, which was funded by the City of Camas.

For more information about the Lacamas Lake Cleanup, visit www.lacamaslakecleanup.com.