Keep Macbride for peaceful water sports

The adage “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” clearly applies to the legislation being considered to remove the 10 horsepower limit on Lake Macbride. Johnson County residents are blessed with having two very different water-based recreation areas in proximity to each other. I love to power boat on Coralville Reservoir and I love to kayak on Macbride.

Fortunately, I can enjoy both within a few hundred yards of each other. The concept is “multiple use management” and it relies on governing agencies to set aside and manage different areas for different activities.

Changing the horsepower limit on Macbride during the summer is a bad idea. Proponents of the change will argue that the “no wake” requirement on Lake Macbride will be maintained. Anyone who doesn't see the folly in that claim needs to spend an hour or two at Mehaffey Bridge on a summer weekend watching how poorly boaters comply with the “no wake” requirement there.

Give boaters additional horsepower and they will use it. Let them do their thing on Coralville Reservoir and preserve Macbride for those more tranquil water sports like kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing and sailing.

Don Jackson

Iowa City