Low Water Causes Beaver Lake Residents to Receive Fines

Drought like conditions continue to cause problems for residents on Beaver Lake. Low water levels have put dozens of docks on dry land and residents are getting fined because of it. All terrain vehicles zip around where people with boats used to sink fishing lines. Low water isn`t just affecting recreation, its hurting residents wallets. Brenda Caler maintains an elderly neighbors dock. She recently received a $75 fine for having the structure on dry land and not in the water. Brenda Caler: "The levels have dropped so fast at times that you just can`t keep up with it." Some residents have moved their docks nearly 15 times this year. They say its costly and time consuming. George Jorgensen, Resident: "Where are you going to put it, the water right out in front of us here is only a foot or two deep, it wouldn`t float in it either." Caler: "Here the Corp is popping up writing tickets to people because their docks aren`t in the water. There`s no water to put it in. What do they want us to do?" But the US Army Corp of Engineers say residents have been given written warning prior to the tickets. Alan Bland, US Army Corp of Engineers: "It is frustrating. We try not to issue citations to people who are way in the back of a cove because we know they can`t get out and their kind of trapped back there." But ranger Bland says residents have to remember the lake is a water and food supply for wildlife. Docks with styrofoam bottoms can break off and become a hazard. Bland: "Little pellets can be swallowed by wildlife and those little pellets can be inflated and actually been known to kill wildlife." Around 30 citations have been written since the spring out of 1600 docks on the lake. Officials say Beaver Lake water levels are not as low as they were in the spring of 1977.