More Water Means More Problems For Kerr Lake

Kerr Lake

may deter campers' plans for the summer.

Officials said the water has risen 1.5 feet in the past two days, covering campsites, playground areas and picnic areas. Officials also said parts of the parking lot and a road are underwater.

"We actually had people swimming in the parking lot last weekend," said park superintendent David Coburn said.

Thanks to recent rainfall, officials said the lake only has 100 campsites open. Usually during the summer, the lake has more than 700 campsites.

Even if it does not rain anymore next week, rangers said the water level is too high for campers to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. Officials said they usually see 50,000 people during the holiday weekend, but they admit that they may be lucky to see 20,000 this year.

"We're losing a drastic amount of money," Coburn said. "We're probably losing close to $60,000."

Last year during a statewide drought, officials said the lake was four feet below normal. This year, the lake is 15 feet above normal.