Cheney Lake visitors, including hunters, keeping track of low water levels

By Nick Nelson

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    CHENEY, Kansas (KAKE) — For some people, it was a day of fun in the sun at Cheney Lake for the Labor Day holiday.

Camper Richard Chandler said that the low water levels aren’t stopping him from celebrating.

“It’s push, pull, absolutely. But it’s still a good time to come out and enjoy,” Chandler said. “It’s not just the lake being down, but it’s the people and having fun seeing everybody.”

Boaters aren’t the only ones paying attention to the record low levels at Cheney Lake, as dove hunters are also concerned about the impact the dry conditions will have on their season.

According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ waterfowl report, Cheney Lake is seeing poor hunting conditions as dove season kicks off this week.

Wichita hunter Kurt Myers said that he hopes the conditions can get the birds in the air at the right time of day.

“The hotter, the drier it is, the more chance you have of being fairly close to water that you’ll get in their path where they’re gonna be cause they need to go water after they feed,” Myers said. “So that’s all part of trying to figure out the best pattern to get them to come in.”

Chandler said that it was a slower than normal Labor Day because of the state of the lake.

“If the lake was up, normal, then, yeah, those sites would have been full, and it had been a lot better, lot more people that way,” Chandler said. “Because when the water’s full, those points are right out on the water.”

As of Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers says Cheney Lake is about 7 and a half feet below normal.

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