High speeds during high water come with high risk of hitting hazards

There have been a few reports of boaters running afoul of submerged hazards on the Mississippi River as the water has remained stubbornly high.

It’s something that can cause severe damage if you’re going fast and it’s all too common when the river’s high water dislodges things like logs from the riverbank.

“With the high water and the logs floating down, it can make a dangerous situation if you don’t see them and hit one,” La Crosse County Sheriff’s deputy Jordan Stratman said.

Stratman, out on patrol this week on the Mississippi, has constantly been reminding boaters of “slow, no wake” rules in the county when the river is above 10 feet at La Crosse.

That’s where the water is now and is expected to remain through the weekend and likely until Tuesday.