The OURA (Ohio Underwater Research Association) is a small, specialized group of divers from Ohio's northeastern regions. They share, in fact they pioneered, our belief that water, wherever it is, was meant for diving. Although this group dives for fun sometimes in conventional locations, they make oppurtunities for diving where most others don't - or won't - as a result of their committment to service. The Wellington reservoir dives are just such an opportunity. The group has permission to dive the reservoir twice a year in exchange for monitoring the conditions.
On this particular day, the plan was to scrape some zebra mussels from the small intake grates to this tiny town's water supply, then spend the rest of the day doing some spot surveys at various locations (read: playing in the water.) The intakes were cleaned in a few moments on the first dive of the day, so we then proceeded to dive two more locations around the reservoir.
There's a thick. lush growth of Elodea on a 20 ft shelf along the perimeter of most of the reservoir. Sloping down from that to about 35 ft is a murky bottom beneath a cloudy thermocline. We found the nicest diving to be at the edge of the Elodea where we could watch some rather large walleye and bass, as well as the crayfish and some gastropods the size of my fist as they made trails in the silty bottom. |
Reservoirs are not usually known as a source of quality artifacting. Aside from assorted fishing lures, this particular reservoir was rather barren, not sporting the usual assortment of beer cans and bait containers one finds in local lakes and quarries. We certainly did not expect to find anything even remotely interesting, so I was very surprised when Mike, swimming a bit ahead of me, pointed excitedly off to our right. I looked, and saw the upside-down trunk of a white Eagle Talon.
After a peek inside the vehicle, we surfaced and took a few headings, then turned and swam back to the boat ramp where we had entered. When we surfaced, Mike asked, "Do you guys know there's a car in here?" |
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VEHICLE RECOVERY
WELLINGTON UPGROUND RESERVOIR
JUNE 17, 2000
By Steve Osmialowski
It was during OURA’s third and final dive of the day when two divers (Luann and Mike Lee) discovered a submerged vehicle. This car was found in the southeast corner of the reservoir about thirty feet from the shore. It was resting under twenty feet of water, lying on its roof and fully intact. The divers soon surfaced and relayed the information to the group. A call was made to the Wellington Police who promptly dispatched an officer. Soon the area was filled with police and fire vehicles and recovery personnel. Luann returned to the wreck and secured a float to the rear axle. Steve Osmialowski geared up again and went down to the site to snap some photographs. |
The car’s license plate number was then relayed to one of the officers. The car turned out to have been stolen back in April from Cleveland. A diver from the fire department then entered the water to secure a cable to the car. Using a winch on a tow truck, the car was easily pulled from the water. Once on shore, the vehicle was examined and more photos were taken. The trunk was opened and all were relieved that no bodies were found. The car had heavy damage to its roof and the submersion had ruined the interior. Some zebra mussels had already begun to colonize on the hood! It was an exciting day at the reservoir and certainly the largest object found there so far!
Thanks goes out to all OURA members who helped out in this unexpected event.
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Article from the Chronicle-Telegram 6/18/00
CAR FOUND IN WELLINGTON RESERVOIR
Wellington – A car stolen from Cleveland in April was found Saturday in Wellington’s upground reservoir along Jones Road, the police chief said.
No one was inside the car, said Chief Steve Rollins. The reservoir is Wellington’s water source.
A dive team from the Ohio Underwater Research Association spotted the 1992 Eagle Talon in the reservoir about 3 p.m. The association checks the reservoir at least twice a year for the village’s water plant, Rollins said. The car was pulled out of the water about 4:30 p.m.
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