Danger at Cottonseed

(from Dianne Wassenichs email)

Now for the whirlpool situation. A dangerous one has formed at Cottonseed Rapids, which is between Westerfield crossing and Scull Crossing. The rapids are really an old dam spillway that was blown up in the 1940's and back then concrete slabs and rocks were left in the river, near an old cotton gin on County Rd. 103. It is a favorite site of watchers of the Water Safari, you may recall.

The gravel has washed out from under one of the long concrete slabs, so the river with full force is rushing under this slab and causing a big sucking whirlpool. When I saw it last week a big piece of debris, a plank with nails sticking out of it, was lodged in it. You can see the water boiling up from under the concrete slab, just downstream, so you can tell how much force the water has, as it rushes through that cavity. You would not be able to fight it. If there is any obstruction like debris under the slab, or rocks that might catch you, you would be caught underwater by the whirlpool and would not be able to surface. You would not likely just blow through the hole under the concrete.

The river bends toward this whirlpool, so tubers would be directed straight to it. A skilled boater might be able to avoid it, but tubers are sitting ducks. Nearby landowners are getting warning signs up that people need to exit the river and walk along the island to avoid being sent into that whirlpool. We are trying to get a sketch of the situation up at Westerfield with a warning sign and we will be warning the Eskimo Hut and Don's Fish Camp people of the situation.

The river bends toward this whirlpool, so tubers would be directed straight to it. A skilled boater might be able to avoid it, but tubers are sitting ducks. Nearby landowners are getting warning signs up that people need to exit the river and walk along the island to avoid being sent into that whirlpool. We are trying to get a sketch of the situation up at Westerfield with a warning sign and we will be warning the Eskimo Hut and Don's Fish Camp people of the situation.

We have contacted GBRA, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Corps of Engineers, and continue to try to make a plan for a fix. Texas Rivers Protection Association is also working with us on this and we'll keep you posted. We know that permits would be required to fix this, and so we are asking these agencies for some direction on that.