Officials Cancel All River Events As Regatta Opens
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The EQT Three Rivers Regatta opened today, but some of the big events have now been canceled.
This morning, officials announced that all river events would be canceled this year. That includes the popular Anything That Floats event and the power boat races.
This is the first time in the history of the Regatta that this has happened.
"Unfortunately, we're going to have to cancel. That's the bad news. The good news is the rest of the Regatta remains in place," Regatta Chairman John Bonassi said.
Ultimately, it came down to an inability to overcome Mother Nature and specifically, the debris that continues to wash down the Allegheny River from the recent storms.
"The debris that flows through, you can't do much to prevent it from flowing through the zone where they will be running. So, some of that is also below the surface of the water and it's difficult to see and when you have boats racing in excess of 100 miles per hour, it's going to create a dangerous situation," Coast Guard Lt. Devin Adams said.
The normal speed on the river is about 0.5 mph. Today, it is flowing at more than 2 mph, which adds to the safety risk.
Some Regatta attendees were saddened by the change of events.
"No river activities, no boats, no races, that's sad," said Adam Wenger of Bridgeville. "I came down here hoping to see some boats today, guess we'll just have to catch it next year."
"That's a shame," said Terrence Johnson of Hazelwood. "Well, I mean for safety you have to do what's right for the people and performers who are out there."
However, all of the other activities will be held as previously scheduled.
Quite a line formed at the ferris wheel and concerts by national acts such as Brett Eldridge, The Airforce Band and Chris Young will still go on.
For more information on the 2015 EQT Three Rivers Regatta, click here: http://www.yougottaregatta.com/
The Fish and Boat Commission has been monitoring river conditions all week.
"It's not so much the debris that you see, some of these logs are just so water-soaked that you will barely see an inch above the water if a boater gets distracted for whatever reason and he comes up on it, he will not see it," said Officer Michael Johnson with the State Fish and Boat Commission.
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