NEENAH (WTAQ-WLUK) – The last of the buoys are out just in time for Memorial Day weekend in Winnebago County.
High waters delayed setting out some of those safety markers.
As Christopher Krohn prepares to take his boat out, he tells FOX 11 it’s good to see buoys are finally in the Neenah and Menasha channel after nearly a month delay.
“I just want to make sure I’m safe and the people I take are safe. Really, we see other boaters get stuck here all the time when the buoys weren’t out and I don’t want to be that guy getting rescued by the sheriff’s department.”
Buoys show which side of a channel is safest to travel. Generally, green buoys must be passed on the left side and reds on the right side.
Winnebago County Parks Director, Robert Way said the delay comes after heavy rainfall and fast currents.
“The lake system filled up and the Army Corp needs to leave that off up in the Menasha channel, in particular. So that raises the water and the current in that system in that channel, which makes it unsafe for the buoys to go in that channel.”
Way told FOX 11 when the current is running as hard as it has through the channel, installation of the buoys off a fixed barge is next to impossible.
He said for safety’s sake, on a year-in-year-out basis, both the county and the contractor agree that buoys are not to be stationed in the Menasha channel until several of the gates are shut and the current drops to a safe level.
Although the markers are finally out, Captain Amos Mikkelson with the Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue urge boaters to take precautions.
“Don’t celebrate too much on the water. Make sure you have all your life safety gear and all those things with you. It’s important that you know your boat well and your waterways.”
Winnebago County expects both the cone-shaped and cylindrical shaped buoys will be replaced in about five years.
