Metro Beach
Water
enthusiasts plagued by Lake St. Clair pollution woes
will have a new reason to hit the waterfront next
summer.
Beach
closings or not.
Metro Beach
Metropark has broken ground on a $1.7 million Squirt
Zone water recreation area, while St. Clair Shores
officials are busy contracting to build two similar,
smaller facilities at their own lakefront parks.
The
"spray parks" offer alternatives to swimming
for families under a new concept in water recreation
that's sweeping the nation.
Akin to
running through a sprinkler, children run through
various portions of a spray park while numerous faucets
shoot water at them at various angles, and in varied
water pressure streams.
Some faucets
resemble giant mushroom fountains that rain water down
from above, some are tube shaped and spray much like in
a car wash. Still other parks offer water cannons and
water guns.
The parks
use chlorinated city water, instead of beach water,
which is collected and recycled through the park's
plumbing system.
"Hopefully,
the beaches will be open next year, but this gives
residents another option," said St. Clair Shores
parks and recreation director Greg Esler.
"I
think the biggest thing about this is that it's just
going to be flat out a lot of fun for the kids."
So far, St.
Clair Shores has budgeted for one $100,000-$125,000
spray park to be opened at Memorial Park next summer.
Officials also hope to place a similar park at Blossom
Heath Park.
Both
locations are private parks open only to St. Clair
Shores residents, funded totally through city revenues.
City
officials are busy seeking a contractor for the St.
Clair Shores spray parks, but hope to bring a proposal
to the council within a month for approval.
The 2,500-
to 3,000-square foot design will likely include a
separate toddler area, as well as a large children's
area. And Esler anticipates water will be sprayed at
children from 54 faucets of varied designs. One design,
a "Kiddie Car Wash" is being considered. That
design sprays children entirely from head to toe.
The larger
Metro Beach spray park will be open to the general
public and also is scheduled to begin operation by
Memorial Day 2001.
It is being
modeled after a similar park in Cincinnati, he said. In
1999, an estimated 90,000 kids used that park over the
course of the summer. That's more than twice the number
of people who typically use the Metropark's swimming
pool, he said.
"Our
park will have 70 different features in which water jets
shoot water out of the ground," said Jim Pershing,
superintendent for Metro Beach Metropark.
Those
options include three water cannons and arches which
shoot water from different directions. A separate
toddler area placed inside the 10,000-square-feet park
is also being considered, he said.
"This
is another option to hitting the beach," Pershing
said. "With the pollution, I think everybody
sitting on the lake has alternatives in mind."
______________________________________________________________________
Chuck
Brockman
-- Macomb Daily
Boating Columnist
Debris
in the water is always a hazard for boaters. It can
cause serious damage to watercraft and possibly injure
their occupants.
We were amazed at the huge pieces of
wood and whole tree trunks that were found and hauled
ashore by our local Macomb County marine patrols. What
wouldn't fit in their boats, they towed back to the
boathouse area station and pulled them out of the water
with four-wheel drive vehicles to be cut up and hauled
away.
There is always more flotsam, so be
cautious and keep a sharp lookout, but thanks to the
dedicated marine patrol, there is a lot less danger
floating out there because of Macomb County's finest.
The Anchor Bay Yachting Association is
again keeping the boating public informed. They annually
publish over 15,000 safety books at considerable expense
for distribution, compliments of ABYA and Sheriff Marine
Divisions of Macomb, St. Clair and Wayne counties. If
you would like any question answered about what is
required on the water, you should have this free book
available at each marine division boat house and ABYA.
Recently, because of new regulations for
Personal Water Crafts, they felt it would be a good idea
to list the new rules near a busy launch area such as
the South River Road DNR site so that the PWC operators
would be well informed before going out on the lake.
Bill Calihan, commodore of ABYA and
three of his officers, had the sign lettered and
constructed. The four proceeded to dig the post holes
and place the sign in a conspicuous place for PWC owners
and other boaters to see.
This organization continually dedicates
itself to the well being of the boating community.
Representing 28 yacht and boat clubs in Lake St. Clair,
they are a credit to all those who call Lake St. Clair
their home port.
We hear about the problems of our
waterways on a continuing basis. The pollution being a
top priority and rightly so. Most of the testing is done
for beach swimmers and we wonder why isn't there testing
of the several different areas of the lake that are used
for swimming by recreational boaters in both St. Clair
and Macomb counties? We are sure there would be funding
available by private organizations.
These problems will take many years to
solve with municipalities separating storm and sewer
lines and installing much larger retention basins for
runoff during heavy rains, among other violations of
individuals and corporations that as yet, go undetected.
With the emphasis on pollution and water
levels, most wildlife always seem to adapt after we
humans start cleaning up our act.
Part of the boating experience is
observing the wildlife who call the water home. For
instance, while at the dock, we observed a Great Blue
Heron fishing from our walkway on a recent weekday
afternoon.
Spindly legs that bend the wrong way,
ruffled slate blue and gray feathers with piercing eyes
standing statue-still, watching the shallow area near
the seawall for the small blue gills who are always
there. But as the song goes, everything is beautiful in
its own way!
When we tried to get a photo of him he
flew off in gracefully slow, effortless flight, with
large wings artfully dodging obstacles such as sailboat
rigging and found another good fishing spot nearby. We
have also watched the more nocturnal kingfishers using
the docks as launching pads for fishing under the lights
that line the seawall. Sit down, be quiet and observe,
you'll be amazed at what you will see, either at the
dock or underway.
Much of nature is alive and well in the
concentration of marinas and busy waterways. If you are
patient, you will see the water world wildlife
inhabitants around you.
One of the best parts of fall cruising
and fishing is seeing nature and wildlife while enjoying
the boating experience.
|
