No Wake Zones – Benefits Our Lake

By G. Dixon – Lake Management Committee

“No Wake Zones” help keep our lake safe and provide lower impact to the enriched sediment.  It is important to understand the consequences for not maintaining a minimum steerage and the impact this has on increase costs to correct the algae blooms as well as the costs to maintain a healthy lake.  Watercraft all have a means of moving the vessel through the water.  Whether it is a jet, propeller, oar, or paddle,  they all rely on some means to push the vehicle forward, or in reverse. This action creates a wake which moves the water down as well as horizontally away from the vessel.  In our lake, the nutrients that are suspended in sediment particles are stirred up into the water by this wake, bringing nitrogen and phosphorus to the warm surface and feeding algae blooms.  Picture a snow globe: shake the globe and snow is resuspended in the water, let it settle and the snow returns to the bottom.  So, it is the same with our lake, especially in the shallow areas like the south end of our lake when a boat is traveling through the water.

Traveling at idling speed in “No Wake Zones” is the best prevention.  Rule of thumb is to look behind your boat; If you are unable to see any disturbance of the water, you are traveling at a speed with low water movement.  Some think that maintaining a certain speed like our roadways is important, but it is truly up to the pilot of the vessel to determine the minimum speed of their boat for safe travel.  While we state a maximum speed limit, the faster one goes, the greater the wake and the greater the damage. And in those areas so designated, you must maintain “No Wake” limits. And remember, this includes within 75 feet of the shoreline.   If your boat is designed to create a wake then it probably would be prudent to avoid the “No Wake Zones” with your boat.  If your boat is traveling faster than necessary in the “No Wake Zone”, or any where on the lake for that matter, there is an equal amount of water traveling in the other direction, causing shoreline erosion, stirring up the nutrients and thus contributing to the algae blooms.  Please use good judgement and Save Our Lake!

Be Lake Responsible