Announcements
Conditions Along Nolin River
Effective 8/1/17- Recent
changes in water level resulting from the removal of Lock and Dam No. 6 on the
Green River downstream have resulted in lower water levels on the Nolin River,
a tributary to the Green. Dewatering of the banks has caused many trees to fall
inward across the relatively narrow stream. The lower water level has also
exposed numerous submerged limbs, trunks, boulders and other hazards. https://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/nolinconditions.htm The Nolin River in Mammoth Cave National Park is now considered largely impassible for the time being, and navigation is strongly discouraged. Numerous portages are required. Only very experienced canoeists and kayakers should attempt passage. If launching from the Nolin River Lake Tailwater, review the information on the bulletin board regarding river conditions. Google Earth imagery of a section of Nolin River in Mammoth Cave National Park is typical of the obstacles along the entire route of the river. |
Lakefront Property Certification Program
![]() The Friends of Nolin Lake, Corps of Engineers, and other partners have seen the need for several years to combat non-point source pollution at Nolin River Lake. Undertaking programs and projects to combat pollution will help keep our water clean, promote community involvement, and show the surrounding communities that we are dedicated to making Nolin better. In the past years, a Lakefront Property Certification Program was envisioned. Two grants were applied for to get this program off the ground. We are optimistic that the program will receive funding in 2014. Below you will find a summary of the program as currently proposed. In the meantime if you are interested in instituting any of these best management practices, please contact us at info@friendsofnolinlake.org or call NRL Corps of Engineers office 270-286-4511. The above picture is an example of badly eroded shoreline and it shows Ranger, Danielle Treadway and volunteer, Carl Suk planting vegetative buffers to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff. Below is a PDF document you can open and read more about the lakefront property certification program we are pursuing for Nolin River Lake. If you would like to help the Friends of Nolin Lake in our mission to keep our lake safe, clean, and enjoyable please do so by becoming a member for only $25 a year per family. Your donation to our membership program helps with funding environmental programs such as the lakefront property certification program, lake activities such as two sets of fireworks, and multi-purpose trails such as the Southwest Kentucky Mountain Bike Association project at Brier Creek (Nolin Lake State Park). |
Golf Cart Safety
Disclaimer: Friends of Nolin Lake is not endorsing the use of golf carts on neighborhood county roads. This is simply an article on safety. Kentucky Statute 189.286 states that local government can pass an ordinance to approve golf carts on their county roads. Check with your county for their laws. Golf Carts Aren't Just for Golfers - Keith Piercy, Compliance Safety and Health Officer, Tampa OSHA Area Office I don't play golf. Nor, I suspect, do a lot of you. It doesn't matter. This story isn't just about golf. That's because golf carts are no longer just on golf courses. You see them all over‐‐on campuses, large plant facilities and in warehouses. They're also typically used as work vehicles to transport workers and equipment from one building or job site to another. So, safe use of golf carts is an important topic. This is especially true when you consider that some workers have a tendency to view them as toys and ride around on them without worrying about the danger, but golf carts are dangerous. They can tip over, tumble down damp hills and collide with other vehicles. Golf carts have become a popular mode of transportation, on and off the links because of their small size, low maintenance, and ease of use. Case reports suggest severe, debilitating injuries as consequences of golf cart incidents. An estimated 48,255 golf cart‐related injuries occurred in the U.S. between 2002 and 2005; the injury rate was 4.14 out of a 100,000 population. The highest injury rates were observed in 10 to 19 year‐olds and those aged 80 and older. Males had a higher injury rate than females. 1 From an occupational standpoint, nationwide between 05/01/2007 and 05/01/2011, OSHA investigated 21 fatalities involving golf cart type equipment; 7 of which occurred in Region IV. Fifty‐two percent of the fatalities occurred at golf and club type facilities. 2 These accidents were caused by employees who did not take precautions, or generally ignored the rules. Primary causes of the accidents included cart overturns, falling/jumping from moving golf carts, collisions with another vehicle or stationary object, and struck/run over by carts. However simple the rules may be, it is important to adhere to them and help everyone to stay safe. Here are a few simple rules: Before You Drive
Passenger Safety
Stopping and Parking
Transporting Goods
When You Drive
1. The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Incidence of golf cart‐related injury in the United States. 2. OSHA Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries |
NOAA's Safe Boating Tips
With boating season already under way, NOAA and the National Safe Boating Council are asking boaters, sailors and water enthusiasts to remember important boating facts and safety tips when heading out on the water. Your life could depend on them!
Did you know that:
So, before you go out on the water:
To learn more, visit the National Safe Boating Council and National Weather Service Marine Forecasts web pages. |
Drowning may NOT look like you think
The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the owners who were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. "I think he thinks you're drowning," the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. "We're fine, what is he doing?" she asked, a little annoyed. "We're fine!" the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. "Move!" he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, "Daddy!"
How did this captain know, from fifty feet away, what the father couldn't recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that's all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, "Daddy," she hadn't made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn't surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.
The Instinctive Drowning Response - so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) - of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC). Drowning does not look like drowning - Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard's On Scene Magazine, described the instinctive drowning response like this:
Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. Th e respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs. Drowning people's mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people's mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water's surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people's bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs. (Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006) This doesn't mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn't in real trouble - they are experience aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn't last long - but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in there own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.
Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
So if a crew member falls overboard and every looks O.K. - don't be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don't look like they're drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them: "Are you alright?" If they can answer at all - they probably are. If they return a blank stare - you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why. |
Water Safety Awareness
Water safety applies to everyone on the lake during all seasons. Take a moment to read a good article on water safety from the Kentucky Lake Boating website. The article is about tips for a safe boating experience on the lake. There is a paragraph on water skiing, a person overboard, passengers, before leaving on your boating trip, while underway, fueling tips, power line dangers, and weather. Be sure and browse the other links given on the site for more information The Corps of Engineers provides many programs on water safety and would be happy to supply your neighborhood or organization with information. Call them at 270-286-4511 if you need training on water safety. |