Beach Packed on Nasworthy Shore, Lake Poses Fewer Hazards to Boaters

Nine Verbist High School students spread along Mary E. Lee Beach Saturday afternoon, munching pizza, swimming and soaking up the sun in celebration of the end of yet another school year.

Clusters of teens, adults and families lined waterfront behind them, some ducking under colorful umbrellas, others dancing to different types of music, more splashing in Nasworthy’s now deeper waters.

“This is about the busiest I’ve seen this beach during my time at the lake,” SAPD Lake Division Officer Tyrel Berrie said. Berrie has been assigned to the lake division for approximately 2.5 years now, and says the relief from recent rains has dramatically impacted traffic around San Angelo’s waterfronts.

“There’s probably three or four times as many people on the water now that the lake’s full,” Officer John Bouligny said Saturday. He and officer James Beddo had been out patrolling the lake by boat, and said that so far, there have been no major issues.

Two weeks ago, prior to the rains, Lake Nasworthy was down to 50 percent of its capacity and several low water hazard buoys had been set out to ward off boaters. Falling the heavy rainfall Lake Nasworthy is now at full capacity and most of the extra hazard buoys have disappeared. The six boat ramps that were closed due to drought conditions have also reopened, lake patrol officers said.

“There was a hazard buoy over by the ramp where they load the boats for the boat races and that thing was leaning over because it was on land,” officer Bouligny said. “You could see the rocks that it was marking and now it’s four feet [deep] in that area. It’s still considered a shallow arrow over there, so there’s still a hazard buoy, but it’s not as shallow as it was.”

The area Bouligny mentioned is estimated to lie around the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Camper Road, and officers still advise caution to boaters in that area. But while water depth is no longer a serious issue, other dangers still loom, they say.

“The hazard spots aren’t there as much, but what you have now is the floating logs and stuff that will take the off the back end of the boat,” Bouligny continued.

Debris, logs and branches from the high wind and heavy rains pose threats to boaters, and lake officers advise anyone out on the water to use caution and to mind all of the buoys marking allowed speed and wake zones.

Even with the sun beating down and debris washed up on shore, Mary E. Lee Beach was packed Saturday, and with school out for the summer, will likely remain a popular spot during the hot summer months.

“We planned this last minute because it’s our end-of-school party,” said 15-year-old Makayla Miller of Veribest High School. “We came out here last year and we liked it, so we came out here again. We have one after every school year.”

Miller says she had a good school year but is glad that summer’s here, and hopes to spend all the free time she has—between cheerleading camp and a school trip to New York—on the beach with friends.

Lake patrol officers are also excited about the replenished water, which lowers risks to lake-goers and provides them the opportunity to take the patrol boat out as well.  

“I like it because it’s not as dangerous for people in the water as it was,” Bouligny said. “People were still coming out here with their expensive boats and taking the chance of running into the ground or hitting something and throwing people off their boat. Now with it being full, the hazards are still there, but not like it was. It’s a lot safer now.”