Water woes at Barren River Lake

GLASGOW, Ky. – It’s a place synonymous with summer recreation.

Barren River Lake State Resort Park offers something for every age, whether it’s getting closer to nature at a campground, seeing how high you can swing at a playground or enjoying the afternoon on the water.

But this year, water levels aren’t where they should be.

Adam VanZant, a park ranger at Barren River Lake, says the lake is currently running about seven feet below where it should be, and it’s causing problems with some boat docks being dry docked, although the lake is still open for recreation purposes. Boaters are just having to use caution since tree trunks, sand bars and rocks that normally are submerged this time of year may stick up out of the water or be just below the surface, causing the risk of damage to boats.

But how about the recent rains? Some of the storms produced some impressive rainfall amounts.

But there’s one problem: location.

Even with the recent heavy rain, the area south of the Cumberland Parkway missed out. And that’s been a trend which has made it more difficult to use the lake since water drains into creeks and streams that feed Barren River and the lake itself.

While the lake is still open for business, it means boaters have to take extra care to not hit tree trunks and rocks that are normally submerged well below where the belly of a boat would move.