Boat ramp, dock to be moved

Pena Blanca Lake, about 10 miles west of Rio Rico on Ruby Road, remains mostly empty but officials hope it will fill naturally in the next 10 months.

Meanwhile, planning is nearly complete to move the boat ramp and dock northwest from its original location. In the future, it’s anticipated there may be a convenience store, a restaurant, a ramada-covered picnic area, a tent camping area, an RV camping area and possibly some small rental cabins.

A project to drain the lake was completed in July, and about 200,000 cubic yards of mercury-contaminated soil on the lake’s bottom was removed.

Coronado National Forest District Ranger Kent Ellett said that the lake is only about 20 percent full because the summer monsoon rains were scant.

“If the 2010 monsoon season is like the one from 2008, it will fill up the lake,” he said.

The former boat ramp was in a flood plain, Ellett said. The location for the new ramp will include a floating dock, a restroom, ADA parking for two vehicles and trailers, a turnaround and a larger parking lot up the hill.

Arizona Game and Fish has budgeted $200,000, drawn from federal funds earmarked for boating under the U.S. Sport Fish Recreation Act, said Mark Hart, information and education program manager for Game and Fish.

He said his agency has to wait for the required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. He said work may start in January.

A draft of the site plan for the boat ramp is on view at the lake and at the Ranger District office in south Rio Rico, 303 Old Tucson Road. The public may comment through the end of November.

A new area of about 20 acres of relatively flat land has been created as a result of removing sediment from the lake bottom.

A proposed store, restaurant, cabins and other additions would be built by individuals or a company that is selected by the Forest Service.

“We’ll be soliciting for vendors,” he said.