Boat Owners, Residents Plead With City To Reverse Boat Ban On Standley Lake
WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) – Boat owners upset they won't be able to use Standley Lake this summer hope they can appeal to city leaders to change the policy before they take are forced to look for other places to spend the season or give up their favorite outdoor activity.
"I can remember in high school 40 years ago being out on Standley Lake," said Bill Bistline, owner of Wakeboard & Waterski Specialty. "It probably actually helped grow my love of boating as well as many other people in the Westminster Arvada area."
He started his business in 1989 and opened it right off the lake. He has grown in the past 30 years, moving locations, but still serving customers primarily using Standley Lake. He even enjoyed being on the water himself for 10 to 15 years before he started the company.
The City of Westminster announced in March that it was prohibiting all trailer boats on the water because of the concern of certain species of mussels entering the ecosystem. The potential for zebra and quagga mussel infestation could impact the water supply for up to 300,000 people, according to the city. The species could affect the infrastructure that helps get water through the treatment facilities needed before it is ready to drink.
"There is no mussels anywhere in the state of Colorado," Bistline said. "We've done a good job of controlling this statewide."
The city says they are concerned about contamination from boats coming from other bodies of water and that in the past, they have had violators not follow the rules to avoid spreading the species. But Bistline says the issue has been in control for more than a decade in Colorado and that Standley Lake actually has one of the most rigorous programs to avoid getting mussels into the water.
"The bottom line, none of us want these mussels, that's what they need to understand, we are on their side," he said.
The challenge boat owners near the lake are now facing, they cannot find another location to spend the summer. By this time in the year, any location that takes reservations is booked for the season. Some boat owners have told Bistline they will move to find another community and lake they can still enjoy or sell their boat.
"One hundred boats is a lot of boats in Colorado to come onto the market at once," he said.
It's an estimate of how many could be for sale if people cannot access Standley Lake this summer. The loss of boat activity could also hurt local gas stations and restaurants that enjoy business from the increase in people by the lake.
The city hosted a meeting on Tuesday night to present its case for this policy and take questions from the public. Staff said they are open to finding a solution that brings boats back to the lake but cannot promise they will find one or that they will make the change in time for this year's boating season.
"To look at that lake with no boats on it, is something I just can't imagine," Bistline said.
LINKS: City of Westminster Boating | Friends of Standley Lake
