Wake boats, designed to create large waves for activities like wakeboarding and wakesurfing, have become a contentious issue on Wisconsin lakes. While these boats provide fun and excitement for water sports enthusiasts, they also raise concerns among other lake users and environmental advocates.
The main issues with wake boats include:
- Shoreline Erosion: The large wakes created by these boats can accelerate erosion along the shorelines, especially on smaller lakes with fragile ecosystems. This erosion can disrupt natural habitats, damage property, and increase sediment runoff, impacting water quality.
- Sediment Disturbance: Wake boats “plowing” motion, churn up sediment and tear apart aquatic plants, especially in small, shallow lakes. This stirs up nutrients like phosphorus, making the water murky, destroying fish habitats, and promoting algae blooms. The disruption also encourages invasive species, damaging the lake’s fragile ecosystem.
- Disturbance to Wildlife: The powerful waves can disturb wildlife, especially waterfowl and aquatic creatures. Sensitive species may be particularly affected by the increased wave action and boat noise.
- Safety Concerns: The large waves generated by wake boats can pose risks to other boaters, swimmers, and paddlers, who may find it difficult to navigate or remain safe in the choppy waters.
- Conflicts Among Lake Users: The use of wake boats can lead to tension between different groups of lake users. Anglers, kayakers, canoeists, and those seeking a quiet, peaceful experience on the water may find their enjoyment diminished by the waves and noise created by these boats.
In response to these concerns, some lakes and local governments have implemented regulations, such as restricting wake boats to certain areas or imposing limits on boat speed and the size of wakes that can be generated. However, balancing the interests of different lake users while protecting the environment remains a challenge in many Wisconsin communities.
31 Wisconsin communities now have ordinances restricting “artificial wake enhancement.” Mequon and Thiensville were the first, passing restrictions in 2009 along the Milwaukee River, banning boats from creating wakes by operating in a “bow-high manner” or at “transition speed,” which is key for wakesurfing.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only five such ordinances existed. From 2021 to 2023, 10 more were passed, and in 2024, 16 additional communities imposed restrictions. These 31 ordinances now affect nearly 200 lakes across the state.