APPLETON (NBC 26) — With green grass and growing crops all around the region, it might not be as obvious that water levels are low.
Just one glance at the Fox River in Appleton shows just how far down the water currently is. The lines on the riverbank show a drastic difference between normal levels and the present day.
The recent rainfall and lack of a drought status may lead most to believe that its business as usual on local waterways.
For Candice Mortara, owner of River Tyme Tours and Bistro, business is drying up.
Her company was forced to temporarily suspend operations in De Pere due to water levels being low enough that the boat's rudder was nearly touching the bottom.
The De Pere boat is bigger and the dock in more shallow water. This means that in times of lower than normal water levels, it's much more vulnerable than the Appleton dock.
Mortara said she's been able to shift some customers over to the Appleton tours, but there's still been many cancellations
The biggest problem is the uncertainty. Mortara said she doesn't know when they'll be able to operate in De Pere again and they're already looking ahead to next month.
"We're thinking we're going to have to move on to August if there isn't a large difference," said Mortara.
Mortara said she recently reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers to figure out why the river was so low.
She was told there wasn't enough water in the system so the gates to the dam would remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Mortara said they've tried to find alternate arrangements in De Pere but nothing has worked thus far.
"We have one last ditch effort, we're going to get some floating docks and see if we can moor them out so that our dock is into deeper water," said Mortara.
