CALAVERAS LAKE, Texas – Policy changes are being made at Calaveras Lake south of San Antonio due to boat ramp safety concerns.
Viewers contacted KSAT via the Defenders Facebook page with pictures of several vehicles in the water and one video. Those who took them say the submerged vehicles ended up in the lake last and this summer.
"Somebody's going to drown sooner or later," Bill Haddox Jr. said. "Somebody's not going be able to get out of their vehicle."
Haddox and his friends think they know the problem: algae.
"Toward the end of the day when most of the boaters are taking their boats out, the algae gets wet and it gets more and more slick," Haddox said.
Calaveras Lake owner/operator Thousand Trails Management Services said algae build-up is due to warm water and lack of water movement.
"You just have to be careful because the launch is slippery if you go too far in. So it's best to have four-wheel drive if you've got a big boat," boater George Switzer said.
Thousand Trails agrees with Switzer. The company plans to limit boat ramp number two to four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles only, according to a written statement from Bud Kahn.
The full statement reads:
"We regularly work to remove the algae that builds up on the boat ramp due to the warm water temperatures and lack of water movement in that area. In addition, we have posted signs at the ramp to inform users where they must stop their vehicles when launching their boats.
The property's two boat ramps are in very high demand, which can result in long wait times to launch boats. However, we will be limiting this particular ramp to four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles only, and will be producing and posting larger signs at the ramp to inform customers of the necessary restrictions. Further, we intend to review the options of limiting the hours of operation and increased monitoring of the boat ramp."
A Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesman said the agency has heard concerns about the safety of the ramp and warned the owners to take necessary actions so people won't have to pay to fish their vehicles out of the lake.