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Authorities warn of boating dangers
Posted: Fri, 12 Jun 2015 01:12 PM - 15,737 Readers
By: Christy Millweard, KVUE
While divers continue to search for a missing teenager in Lake Travis, authorities want to make sure people are aware of dangers below the surfaces of area lakes.
With temperatures forecast in the 90s June 12-14, boaters are expected to be on area lakes.
"This is our first trip to Travis in about four years because there hasn't been any water, so it's all totally new right now," said Jerry Johnston, who was at the lake Friday with his wife for a birthday celebration.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the vegetation around Lake Travis had time to grow while it wasn't underwater. Big trees or brush that grew on once-dry parts of the lake may now be one or two feet underwater.
The debris and growth has caused difficulties for the divers searching, and they want to make sure it doesn't cause problems for other boaters.
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Search continues for missing teen in Lake Travis "Due to the drought, lots of trees, bushes have grown up in areas that were dry, and so parts of the lake have obstructions under the water that people can't see," said Lisa Block, a spokesperson with the Travis County Sheriff's Office.
Bill Hill has been fishing on Lake Travis for 20 years and said it's a great way to see wildlife, but some of that nature has been getting too close.
"Early on, right after the water came up, it was very thick, there were very large debris fields, probably anywhere from one to five or six acres at a time, but not most of the debris field have drifted to shore or dispersed," said Hill.
Parks and Wildlife said it's important everyone knows where they are on the lake, so that in case a person does get into trouble, help can quickly respond.
The KVUE Defenders investigated the number of drownings on Lake Travis in the last five years, and found that 19 people have drowned since 2011. The most in one year was eight people in 2011.
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