Despite rumors to the contrary, the Grand Bayou boat bay on the east side of Calcasieu Lake remains open, and no closure is scheduled, a state official said Wednesday afternoon.

Chuck Perrodin, spokesman for the state Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority, said readings from a salinity monitor led officials to think they might have to close the boat bay. But when they reviewed the data they found a malfunction in the monitor, he said.

“The process worked, and no closing was scheduled,” Perrodin wrote in an email. “But word leaked out before an official determination was made.”

He said the CPRA will keep the boat bay open as long as possible, but will “close it when we must.”

For information on boat bay access, call 855-532-9955. Perrodin has said that officials will update the information line’s recording within a half hour of any change in status.

• • •

For more about this issue, read the Informer column that was published in Wednesday’s American Press by clicking here.

(American Press Archives)

Michelle Higginbotham