Wake Awareness 101

Understanding the environmental effects of wake boats

• They have ballast tanks that can easily transfer aquatic species

• Wake boats effect sediment in shallow water

• Wake boats operate in a ‘bow high’ manner restricting visibility

• Large wakes can impact loon nesting and wildlife

• Wakes can create erosian and structural damage

The ballast tanks are filled and discharged with water to enable certain performance characteristics to enhance wake creation .

• Large ballast tanks pump water in from lake, approximately 600-700 gallons.

• A recent study showed that after emptying tanks, between 10 and 50 gallons remain.

• Most ballast tanks have no access port for decontamination

• If this process is repeated in follow-on lakes, the risk for releasing invasive fragments or larvae is very high.

• E.g. – Lake Champlain has >50 aquatic invasive species, including water chestnut, round goby, hydrilla and spiny waterflea…

• Empty your ballast tank in the lake before you leave

• Ideally, use your wake boat in the same lake all the time

• Always clean, drain and dry your boat

• Nutrients like phosphorous are stirred up into the upper water column

• Coupled with increased summer water temperatures, this creates the perfect environment for a harmful algal bloom (HAB) to form.

• Wakeboats can stir up sediments in waters shallower than 25 feet

• Underwater native vegetation and habitat disrupted – fish nests

• Decreasing water clarity - sediment resuspension

• Releasing phosphorus trapped in the lakebed

• Nutrient dispersion is linked to an increase in HABs

• Keep your watercraft at least 1,000 feet from a shoreline

• Boat in water that is at least 30 feet deep

• Boat in a water body that has at least 60 contiguous acres of surface water

• Wake boats operate in a ‘bow high’ manner to generate the surfable wake

• This can restrict visibility of canoes and kayaks, and swimmers

• Swamping of smaller boats and fishermen also possible

• Always be aware of your surroundings and boat traffic

• Ensure that can see clearly while operating the boat