About The Channel . . .

[Havasuvian]

You may notice some changes in the Bridgewater Channel at Lake Havasu City in the coming months. The results of a carbon monoxide study conducted in the Channel over the Memorial Day weekend showed CO levels high enough to cause much concern by public health and local officials. The body of a 31-year old Huntington Beach man was recovered from the Channel over the weekend and the toxicology test showed he not only had alot of alcohol in his blood, but also a very high concentration of CO, both of which are now listed as factors that contributed to his drowning. Similar circumstances surrounded a drowning on Memorial Day last year, where witnesses said the victim had been wading in the water near the back of a beached boat that was idling to recharge the batteries. Many other CO related boating incidences are being recorded now that fortunately did not result in death, but were no less life threatening. Including one which involved my own daughter.
I am sharing this with you because unless this problem improves, and soon, our ability to enjoy the Bridgewater Channel as a gathering place may be in serious jeopardy. We can all help by graciously accepting (and reading) the informational brochures handed out at the launch ramps, shutting off the boat when beached and limiting your stay in the Channel if the air is calm and its quality appears poor. A boat can produce as much deadly CO as 188 cars, particularly at idle, so if the Channel begins to look like a smoggy freeway, you may want to enjoy another part of the lake for a couple of hours. And don't make the same mistake I did, by letting someone ride on the transom or rear swim step while idling along. It could kill them.
Sorry to post this type of message here, but I know those of you who enjoy the Channel will agree that it would be a shame to lose it.
Charlie

[Ziggy]

RiverDave:
A boat can produce as much deadly CO as 188 cars,I'd be curious to know where that # came from..
RD RD, always disecting details aren't ya??

[Havasuvian]

That's how effective catalytic converters on cars are. Obviously, most boats don't have them. The stats came from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), which is an arm of the CDC and one of the agencies helping Lake Havasu City conduct the Channel studies. I know it's hard to believe, but the numbers don't lie.
Charlie

[bigq]

RiverDave:
A boat can produce as much deadly CO as 188 cars,I'd be curious to know where that # came from..
RD Me too!! I ran a car without cats on a smog machine and it still passed. It was a FI motor and 55k miles on it. I find that number hard to believe. where did it come from.

[bigq]

Havasuvian:
That's how effective catalytic converters on cars are. Obviously, most boats don't have them. The stats came from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH), which is an arm of the CDC and one of the agencies helping Lake Havasu City conduct the Channel studies. I know it's hard to believe, but the numbers don't lie.
Charlie Numbers don't lie, but people do. Is this report printed somewhere? Do you have a copy?

[Havasuvian]

As an activist in my private life involved in the fight against enviro-extremists and the damage their lawsuits cause, I can assure you that I am not a tree hugger.
I will be in the Channel on Friday the 4th doing my city job by escorting a Phoenix TV news crew around. I will be in a 24' Ozark deckboat, yellow over gray. I will have a CO analyzer with me, so look me up and I'll be happy to illustrate the boat/car comparison to you first hand. No BS.
Charlie

[Ziggy]

RiverDave:
Ziggy:
RiverDave:
A boat can produce as much deadly CO as 188 cars,I'd be curious to know where that # came from..
RD RD, always disecting details aren't ya?? I wouldn't call that a minor detail. I'd call that tree hugger BS.
RD I didn't say "minor" detail Dave...this is an important issue we all should address if the channal will remain as a usable part of the lake....common sense is the first step to a solution but not all people have it...thats why we have all the beaurocratic BS tightening the ropes around our hobbies...which doesn't just mean boating.

[Havasu_Dreamin]

Anyone who has been in the channel on a busy holiday weekend can attest to the "fog" that rolls over the place in the mid-to-late afternoon.
Labor Day weekend 2002 at about 2:30 there were so many boats I could have walked from the island side to the tourist side without getting my feet wet. Ok, that may be an exaggeration but it was PACKED! And with all those boats the exhaust cloud was truly amazing, in a bad way. I had never seen anything like that before.

[bigq]

Havasuvian:
As an activist in my private life involved in the fight against enviro-extremists and the damage their lawsuits cause, I can assure you that I am not a tree hugger.
I will be in the Channel on Friday the 4th doing my city job by escorting a Phoenix TV news crew around. I will be in a 24' Ozark deckboat, yellow over gray. I will have a CO analyzer with me, so look me up and I'll be happy to illustrate the boat/car comparison to you first hand. No BS.
Charlie Have you already done this test. What is the difference between a big weekend and an off weekend?

[LaveyJet]

As far as the channel’s concerned, I’d be more concerned with what’s in the water than what’s in the air. There’s like no current and everyone relieves themselves there. Good breeding ground for bugs.