A drone video taken Tuesday and posted on social media by videographer Pete Dobbs shows flood waters covering much of Ditto Landing marina and campground on the Tennessee River in south Huntsville. Parts of the marina unreachable by land from Memorial Parkway today, and staff are watching the skies where more rain is predicted.
Flooding took the river near the marina to 20.54 feet Tuesday, and it was at 20.48 feet Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. The “moderate” flood stage is 20 feet.
TVA is now forecasting a crest of 20.68 feet on Friday, Valentine’s Day. Marina spokeswoman Brandi Quick said the facility would be OK at that level, because most of it was designed to float and has sustained damage so far only to campgrounds, roads and parking lots. “All of our boats are OK, the docks float, my office floats - only the campgrounds are going to need cleanup,” Quick said today.
The marina offers campgrounds, pavilion rentals, boat storage and wet slips for boats. It has greenways for walking and is expanding those greenways by adding an extra 1.3 miles west of the marina reachable under the Memorial Parkway bridge.
Quick urged motorists not to go around the barriers on Ditto Landing Road for safety. And she urged people in general not to litter. Litter floats and gets caught in trees when the river floods, she said, and that means a lot of effort to remove it.