NEAR ROGERS, AR (KNWA) – High water levels are taking a toll on some local lake businesses. The Hickory Creek Marina says the dangerous levels on Beaver Lake are keeping boaters away.
For Susan Whitehouse, late May at the Hickory Creek Marina is a busy time of year.
“Our parking lot would be full. We would just be bustling,” she says.
But recent heavy rainfall has left the parking lot flooded, and empty.
“Rain on the weekends is not good, and an excessive amount of rain on the weekends is especially not good,” adds Whitehouse.
Whitehouse is having to cut back, sending employees home early, but she’s not the only one. Across the lot ‘My Cafe’ is sending waiters to other locations.
“We just sent one of our part time employee’s home, who usually works until four, because there’s just no business. The water’s dirty, the water’s cold, and there’s a lot of debris in it,” Whitehouse says.
This isn’t the worst they’ve seen. Whitehouse says four years ago, the floodwaters were even higher.
“I figured that, if we can survive 2011, we can survive this,” she says.
Whitehouse says even though times are tough, the sun, and customers, will return.
“The water will warm up, it will get warm, and people will wanna come. Hopefully the lake level will go down enough and you won’t have to get your feet wet to get on the dock.”
