Dropping water levels at Lake Mead forced marina owners to move Friday. The Lake Mead marina, boats and all was moved two miles from Boulder Harbor to Hemenway Harbor.
Like a floating island, the Lake Mead Marina went on a five hour tour to its new home. The National Park Service moved it two miles to the south.
"The way it is done, you power it with very large boats and house boats. That is how we move marinas on the lake," said Roxanne Dey, Lake Mead National Park spokesperson.
The boats moving the marina were in dock slips spread throughout the facility. Once the owners unhooked the power cables and poles attaching the marina to shore -- 470 slips, almost all of them full, even the marina office and restaurant floated to a spot next to the Las Vegas Boat Harbor Marina.
"They are going to get out where they will get water forever," said Bob Wood, American Anglo Fishing Guide Service. That is something Wood can appreciate. He has worked on the lake for 15 years, guiding vacation fishermen to their catch. For the past eight years, he has seen the water levels drop and drop and drop.
"This boat ramp, if you look up there. We used to launch way at the top where those trailers are," said Wood.
The Bureau of Reclamation projects the lake to fall another 19 feet over the summer. For every one foot the lake level drops, the National Park Service loses 10 to 20 feet of ramp space. Even though there is enough water in Lake Mead to do any kind of recreation, boaters must go farther and farther down the boat ramp to get into the water.
Like any family that's outgrown its home, this moving day wasn't a choice it was a necessity. This is the third time a large number of dock slips have been moved in the past year.
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Bob Wood, American Anglo Fishing Guide Service
