High river levels cancel Manhattan paddle event

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - River levels in Manhattan have risen so high that organizers of the Little Apple Paddle paddle event decided to cancel.

The event would of begun on the Big Blue River and then joined the Kansas River. Organizers said the combination of levels and the flow of the rivers are not safe for beginners who might of came out to paddle.

KSNT 27 News spoke to one of the organizers who explained why they decided to cancel.

"We don't want people getting on the river when it's not safe. It can be dangerous," Marcia Rozell with Visit Manhattan said. So even where we're standing, there's pylons behind me by the by the bridge. And if you don't know they're there, It's easy to tip because it's a hazard in the in the river."

In years past, the event has been moved to Tuttle Lake if the river was not safe. This year is is cancelled because organizers say moving the event would of drastically changed the turnout because so many people want to paddle on the Kansas River.

It is also hard to change the date because eight different organizations from northeast Kansas worked together to set up the event which was supposed to happen on July 13.

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