Woodlands Waterway Cruisers service is suspended indefinitely

The Woodlands Waterway Cruisers will no longer be in operation after officials with the company that runs the boats and The Woodlands Township agreed to end their business arrangement. The Woodlands Waterway Cruisers will no longer be in operation after officials with the company that runs the boats and The Woodlands Township agreed to end their business arrangement. Photo: DERRICK BRYANT Photo: DERRICK BRYANT Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Woodlands Waterway Cruisers service is suspended indefinitely 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The popular, but embattled, Woodlands Waterway Cruisers ferry service has been suspended indefinitely, Woodlands officials announced Friday night.

Bruce Rieser, a member of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors and the board chairman of The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the Villager late Friday that township officials and Lisa Spitz, the owner of Waterway Events LLC, had agreed to "amicably" end their business relationship.

After Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston region with more than 50 inches of rain in late August, 2017, the four European-style tourist boats had stopped running due to damage to their electrical systems, requiring the need for extensive repairs.

Spitz, who used to run a similar tourist boat service in the Waco area before moving to The Woodlands to run the cruisers, had been in default of her agreement with the township because the boats were not running. In December, Spitz was given more time by the township's CVB board to get the boats operating again. The township had a business agreement with Spitz to provide the ferry service along the Woodlands Waterway.

The boats resumed tours of the Woodlands Waterway in a limited fashion on Dec. 8, with one of the four boats running. Spitz told the Villager in an interview in early December she had ordered a new motor from Germany for one of the crafts and was hoping to repair a third to continue to provide the popular cruises.

After being given more time to get the boats operating again, Spitz described the damage to the boats in a December interview.

"After the hurricane, it blew so hard and got so wet in there, that it basically fried the electrical system on the boats that were running," Spitz said at the time.

At the time of the resumption of services, Nick Wolda, president of Visit The Woodlands and the township CVB, said he and other township officials were excited the cruisers were going to be back in action.

"(The cruisers) are very important to this area. The Waterway needs some activity," Wolda said in December. "(Spitz) has been working hard to get them up and going again."

The boats and cruises along are an important element of the township's overall image, Wolda said at the time.

"(The service) is one of our distinguishing differentials to other downtowns in the Houston area," Wolda added.

But Rieser said on Friday the damage to the boats was so extensive that it was not practical to expect to have the service running again.

"It's just not worth putting them out on the water again," Rieser said.

Attempts to reach Spitz for comment on Friday were unsuccessful.

Rieser said township officials would seek to find a new ferry service provider for the waterways, but could not say when such a service would be operating again