To float or not to float?

Lauren Buelow Cunningham |

Due to ridiculous amounts of rainfall, the Chippewa River is running fast and high. But is it too dangerous for the favorite summer pastime of Eau Claire youths?

The City of Eau Claire says yes, that the river is just 5 feet below the downtown flood level, and the currents are dangerous enough to put the fire department on high alert. The City has even blocked off parts of the bike trial that are under water. (Not to mention that gobs of rain = gobs of gross runoff = high bacteria levels. Eww.)

But despite these warnings, several die-hard tubers have thrown caution to the wind (and tubes to the waves), making the recently-treacherous journey down The Mighty Chip. Some even affirm that floating on the Chippewa is more fun after a flash-flood warning has been issued.

So is the city being overly cautious about the whole thing? Or are the extreme tubers being too reckless? All I know is, as an occasional tuber who never officially graduated from swimming lessons, I will be staying on dry land for a little while.