Activities Vary : 8 City Lakes to Open for Water Sports

Thanks to an experimental program, enthusiasts of a variety of water activities will be able to enjoy their sports at San Diego’s eight city reservoir lakes for the first time today.

Catamaran sailboats and motorless float-tube fishing will now be allowed through the end of September at Miramar, Murray, Hodges, Lower Otay, El Capitan, Sutherland and Barrett lakes, according to Linda Bartholomew, an aide to San Diego City Councilman Ed Struiksma, who initiated the project.

Also, at Lake San Vicente, water skiers and windsurfers will be able to enjoy their sports at the 1,000-acre lake through the end of September, she said. During this trial period, only 50 water-skiing boats will be allowed on the lake, and windsurfers and water skiers will be separated by buoys.

Future Depends on Success

Future plans for the water activities being allowed on a permanent basis at the eight lakes will depend on the success of the program in the coming months, according to Bartholomew.

Before today, seasonal fishing was allowed at city lakes, as well as kayaking and canoeing.

Lake San Vicente was selected by the San Diego City Council from the city-owned lakes to be used solely for water-skiing and windsurfing.

Opening lakes for recreational use is an effort to alleviate overcrowding at Mission Bay, Bartholomew said. The state Department of Health, which regulates the lakes that also provide drinking water, gave the final go-ahead June 24.

In 1983, Struiksma initiated the City Lakes Recreational Program after an Olympic kayaker from Encinitas complained about having to take his kayak to Mission Bay to practice and he wondered why he couldn’t use Lake Hodges for his water sport, Bartholomew said.

Struiksma pursued the idea of opening all the city lakes for recreational use, she said, and initially got approval in 1983 from the state Department of Health to allow kayaks and canoes on Lake Miramar and Lake San Vicente for six months. The program proved so successful that the city opened all eight lakes to kayaks and canoes.

If the current experiment proves a success, Struiksma hopes to introduce water skiing and windsurfing at the other lakes, according to Bartholomew.

There is a $3.50 entrance charge for adults and a $2 charge for children, and it will cost $4 to launch a boat at all lakes.

These fees will pay for improvements to the lake shores, picnic areas, hiking and jogging trails, as well as finance the salaries of city lifeguard-rangers who will patrol the lakes in boats, Bartholomew said.

“The lifeguard-rangers will have dual purposes--water rescues and enforcing the rules and regulations,” said Dennis Cowan, one of the lifeguards who will work at Lake San Vicente this summer.

“It’s hard to say how things will go. We aren’t sure how the lake is going to be able to handle it,” he said of Lake San Vicente. “It depends on what kind of public you get out there. If everybody obeys by the rules, it should work out just fine.”

The hours for each lake vary, and those interested in sailing, fishing, skiing or just visiting are urged to contact the lake they wish to visit to find out their operating hours.