Naperville business owner sees 'serious problem' with water safety
The need for swift-water rescues along the DuPage River in Naperville is causing one business owner to call for a waterway safety campaign.
Troy Cooper, who owns Naperville Kayak, said reports of five people who had to be rescued from the river on Sunday prove it's past time for a stronger push to prevent boating in unsafe conditions.
He said he noticed the need for education and hazard removal after a string of three rescues over two days in 2015. Sunday's rescues prove the message hasn't spread far enough, he said.
"There's a serious problem going on with this," Cooper said. "It's been going on for too long. There needs to be a more concentrated effort to do something before someone gets hurt."
Cooper said he's interested in working through the Naperville Parks Foundation, which he leads as president, as well as the Naperville Fire Department and others, to educate people about the hidden hazards of swift water and the liability a dangerous river can cause property owners.
"Strainers," which are or downed trees or other obstacles in the river, are one such liability because they can endanger kayakers, Cooper said, by pinning them against the obstacle while high-pressured water gushes past.
"Water is much more powerful than humans," he said. "When it's moving like that, it doesn't matter how big or how strong you are. It has the ability to overpower you."
Cooper said he has worked with chain saws and clippers to remove several downed trees from the stretch of river where he guides customers, but he hopes he can motivate riverfront owners to do so in a more coordinated way.
He also wants to keep pushing lessons of kayaking best practices, such as learning to paddle and turn on a calm body of water before venturing into a river - skills Naperville-area novices can gain by renting from his business at the Naperville Park District's paddleboat quarry near Rotary Hill. Other tips include trying each new river with an experienced guide who understands where problem spots are and how the river behaves at varying heights, and staying away when currents move too swiftly.
"We never, ever, ever go near the river with customers when it's like it was this weekend," Cooper said. "We're trying to do our part to make it safer."
The Naperville Fire Department also is pushing a message of safety, after crews responded to two separate calls Sunday involving stranded kayakers. All five rescued were wearing life jackets and were helped from the river without injury, Division Chief Amy Scheller said.
"We have very talented and trained fire department members who are able to rescue individuals," she said. "But we don't want it to end up that way."
Recent soaking rains raised the water level on the West Branch of the DuPage south of the Fawell Dam to nearly 8 feet on Sunday, traveling at 1,400 cubic feet per second, according to a river gauge monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Cooper said the DuPage can be possible to kayak at a minimum of 40 cubic feet per second, which allows enough water height to float, coupled with slow enough currents not to sweep anyone down the river if their vessel flips. But the maximum safe level, he said, depends on each kayaker's experience and skill.
Even though water speeds decreased to 356 cubic feet per second by Monday afternoon, Cooper said he kept his business closed for river tours as a day off for his employees.
Without additional rain, Cooper said he expected to reopen tours on Tuesday from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad bridge to Pioneer Park. Scheller said the fire department recommends continued caution. Going it alone still isn't smart.
"If people want to learn to kayak," Cooper said, "they should always go out with somebody who knows the river."