Guilford Lake in Lisbon sits near empty after being drained for Ohio Department of Natural Resources crews to start work on the dam. The water levels reached an all time low putting business like Mark’s Landing boating rentals on hold as the weather gets warmer.
“It’s going to hurt a lot, the boat rental was one of our main sources of income,” Bobbi Ieropoli, one of the owners of Mark’s Landing, said. “It’s our business, our livelihood.”
Some in the neighborhood don’t mind the receding water line and are taking advantage of the treasure hunt it leaves behind by searching the mud that’s usually hidden with metal detectors.
The dam will be fully replaced in the $16 million project. It’s been reconstructed before and upgraded several times since it was built in 1846. This time it needed the work after it didn’t pass safety standards including being able to hold enough water during a flood.
Even with the lake drained, Mark’s Landing will be keeping their summer hours for the restaurant and patio hoping people can find the beauty in the mess.
“It’s a different kind of serene looking at it like this. It’s serene for the wild life you see eagles you see birds,” Ieropoli said. “It’s still calming. You look at it and you know it’s a temporary situation.”
It’ll depend on the weather but ODNR expects the lake to be refilled by the Spring of 2027.