(Radio Iowa) – The Dickinson County Emergency Management Commission will lift high water speed restrictions on the Iowa Great Lakes area this weekend. Dickinson County Emergency Management Coordinator Michael Ehret says some commissioners wanted to extend the five-mile-an-hour rule another week, but that was overruled.

“There were still concerns about the shorelines that were damaged. There’s also concerns about the economic impact that it’s having on the lakes area and tourism,” Ehert says. “There’s no level that we can set that’s going to please everybody. It’s just not possible.” A report from the Iowa Regents’ Lakeside Lab says more than 70 shorelines have collapsed due to the high water. Tourism officials in the region estimate tourism is down by 40 to 60 percent. Ehert is urging boaters to remain cautious.

Photo via Okoboji Online

“Everybody’s anxious to get out in the lake and have fun but just be careful and then be respectful of the lake shore property owners that had damages,” he says. Ehret says the rule would be reinstated if the area get high amounts of rain that bring the water levels back up.

The speed limit for boaters and jet skiers will end Saturday at 6 a-m.

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)