Rainy spring could impact Harrisburg river attraction

Harrisburg — A rainy spring could mean trouble for one of Harrisburg's beloved attractions.

The Pride of the Susquehanna was shored up much of last year due to high water levels and flooding.

Today's weather could also impact the boat.

The Pride is gearing up for the spring and summer boating seasons, but if we get more days filled with rain, the launch date could be pushed back.

The Pride, currently sitting just a couple hundred feet from the river, and Executive Director Jason Meckes is keeping an eye on the river levels. Anything above 8 feet could prove dangerous.

The river sat around 6 feet Friday afternoon.

"It is going to double its height in that same 24 hour period of time, so we are kind of, just like last year, watching and praying, just looking."

Meckes says right now the launch is scheduled for May 1st, but rain could push it back. That' what happened last year.

A lot of rain will not only affect the launch date of the Pride, but also getting all of the launch docks installed.

"The rain will come. This is not unusual, but we’re just hoping that it’s in and down the river and that’s that, and that we have reasonable water levels for spring."

Last year, severe flooding caused the Pride to lose one month of business. That's a third of their entire summer season.

"We lost all of September, and then some of October, and then even November we had to just pull the plug on the last few weeks of the season when people were finally excited to get on board, just because the waters went over our docks."

The docks were supposed to be installed Saturday, but officials decided to cancel that.

They say the docks could float downstream and crews haven't been able to fortify their cables.