An Ohio river’s water level was raised last weekend to allow for “safe navigation” of Vice President Vance’s security team while his family was on a kayaking trip, federal agencies said Thursday.
Vance’s Secret Service team asked for a higher level on the Little Miami River for a boating trip, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
The Army Corps of Engineers said in an emailed statement to The Hill that its Louisville district “received a request to temporarily increase outflows from Caesar Creek Lake to support safe navigation of U.S. Secret Service personnel.” The Little Miami is fed by the lake.
Social media posts indicated the vice president was seen Saturday — his birthday — around southwestern Ohio, including on the Little Miami River, The Guardian reported.
U.S. Geological Survey data shows a drop in lake elevation for Caesar Creek between Friday and Saturday and a rise for the river that day.
The Army Corps’s statement said the Secret Service request “met the operational criteria outlined in the Water Control Manual for Caesar Creek Lake and did not require a deviation from normal procedures. It was determined that the operations would not adversely affect downstream or upstream water levels.”
The Secret Service said in an email to The Hill that it “in close coordination with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Army Corps of Engineers conducted operational planning to ensure that motorized watercraft and emergency personnel could operate safely with appropriate water levels during a recent visit.”
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources directed The Hill to the Army Corps of Engineers when reached for comment. Vance’s office directed The Hill to the Secret Service.
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