While crews continue to fix the Arkabutla Lake Dam in a project that could take years, Memphis-area sailing is at risk to “not have much of a future.”
A potential breach of the dam was discovered in May by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District. If the dam failed, water could have roared into Coldwater River and disastrously flooded several Delta counties. This triggered the Corps to activate an Emergency Operation Center and begin quickly to reduce the threat.
The USACE began immediately releasing water from Arkabutla Lake to relieve pressure on the dam and to assess its structural soundness. By mid-May, the Corps said “dam failure or breach are currently not imminent.”
However, the group continued to release water from the lake to shore up the dam and continue to reduce the risk. As of August, the Corps was still working around the dam and creating “the best design for longterm repairs.”
“I want to thank you for your patience as we work to repair the dam,” Col. Chris Klein, commander of the USACE Vicksburg District said in an August YouTube video. “A permanent fix to the dam will take years, which I understand is a long time to lose some recreation features of the lake. Please know though that we’re committed to working as quickly as possible to get the lake safely back to higher levels.”
The water level there now is so low, visitors to the lake now might find it to look like a huge mud puddle. They might also notice a fleet of sail boats sitting on dry land on the banks of the lake, looking lonely and unused.
The lake is home to the Delta Sailing Association, the boats belonging to the club’s members. Since you can’t sail on mud, a meeting this week in Memphis will determine the future of the club, easily the largest concentration of Memphis-area sailors.
“In another week or so, we might not have much of a future,” said club member Mark van Stolk.
In a Facebook post about the upcoming meeting, van Stolk said, “the Army Corps has made it clear that if we don’t carry-on, there will never again be a sailing club at the lake and dinghy sailing near Memphis will effectively cease to exist.”
The Corps has allowed the club, founded in 1949, a rare lease on lakefront property there on Hernando Point in DeSoto County. Since the club does not condone building on the property, the club site has a canopy, some picnic tables, some boat launches, a dock, and a lot for the members’ boats, usually between 12 feet and 20 feet.
There are other lakes around Memphis. But Arkabutla has the Goldilocks effect. Sardis Lake is big and deep but that attracts large power boats and mischievous jet skiers who have stolen sail boat racing buoys in the past, van Stolk said. Hyde Lake at Shelby Farms is peaceful but not large enough for several sail boats at one time, not to mention the other kayakers and paddle boaters.
No sailing will happen at Arkabutla while the Corps fixes the dam, obviously. So, the question before club members this week is whether to keep its lease. The property is handy for sailing, van Stolk said, as the boats don’t have to be set up and taken down again for trailering to a sail site. But the decision is really one that will affect “the youth of the future to be able to sail.”
“It’s hard enough nowadays to get kids to sail because, well, they’d rather be sitting behind a computer playing video games,” he said. “Getting kids to actually do something outdoors that isn’t as organized as a soccer team or something like that is difficult. But not having a location within a reasonable distance is sort of the death knell of the sport in Memphis.”