First published in June of 2015
DETROIT, Ore. – There's some good news and bad news if you were hoping to head to Detroit Lake for Memorial Day weekend.
State health officials on Thursday lifted a health advisory at the lake, located 46 miles southeast of Salem. High toxic blue-green algae levels previously posed a danger to pets and humans.
Read more: Detroit Lake health advisory lifted
The bad news, however, is there's not as much lake to play in as there has been in previous years. The current water level is 56 feet below what's considered normal for this time of year, according to Scott Clemans with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The lake's reservoirs start filling with rain in February, Clemans said, but precipitation was only 85 percent of average for February, 70 percent for March, and 60 percent for April.
"The reservoir is unlikely to fill much higher unless we see some really significant rain," Clemans said in an email to KGW. "The folks at the Oregon Climate Change Institute with whom I've been speaking are not optimistic we're going to see that."
Three low-water boat ramps remain open at the lake. Business owners hope visitors will still bring their families to the area.
"The sun's gonna be here, it's gonna be beautiful," said Callie Lunski with the Detroit Lake Marina. "I hope that people don't stay away just because the water's low."
Here's a look at Detroit Lake's water levels for the last 15 years. A 2001 drought caused similarly low levels.
2000 - 1,563
2001 - 1,510
2002 - 1,563
2003 - 1,564
2004 - 1,563
2005 - 1,564
2006 - 1,563
2007 - 1,563
2008 - 1,559
2009 - 1,563
2010 - 1,563
2011 - 1,563
2012 - 1,564
2013 - 1,563
2014 - 1,563
2015 - 1,508
