By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Reservoir camping has been down overall this year, but weekends still have seen good turnouts, manager Brock DeLong said.

“It started out as a typical year for us, then the hotter weather has reduced its use,” DeLong said.

Altogether, camping at the lake was below a typical year, DeLong said, with temperatures being over 100 degrees for two weeks in a row.

Two of the lake’s four launch lanes are closed because of low water levels.

The lake is four feet below its conservation pool.

“We sure need some rain, pretty bad.” support service specialist Torey Hett said.

Overall, many things are different from years past, DeLong said.

“It just hasn’t been a typical year for us,” DeLong said.

Fishing has been typical this year, but day use, such as picnicking, has been lower than normal since hotter weather set in.

“One of the bright spots for this summer is we’ve had a decent time with blue-green algae,” he said. “We were taken off of any advisories on July 11.”

DeLong warned against water hazards with lower lake levels. As water recedes, underwater hazards are closer to the surface.

“Just be careful out there,” he said.