SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Proposed ban is seeking to ban wake boats from Lake Waramaug. Rebuttal: The ban is directed at the activity of wake surfing only, not wake boats. Wake boats will still be permitted on the lake, but will not be allowed to generate enhanced waves using wake-enhancing features.

Why pick on wake surfing for their large waves when other motorboats do the same? Rebuttal: Wake surf boat are specifically designed to generate wakes that are four times large and ten times more powerful than traditional water skit boats. These enhanced wake are necessary for wake surfers to ride the wake without holding onto a line. The fact is that wake boats are in a category of their own when it comes to generating ocean-level wake.

Wake boats are just high tech ski boats. They are high tech ski boats, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. When a wake boat has filled its ballasts with water, it can weigh up to 12,000 pounds. The extra weight is what generates the giant waves. By comparison, a traditional water ski boat weighs between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds. That’s three times heavier!

It’s safe to wave surf as long as you’re 200 feet off shore. This is a distance that has absolutely no basis in science or experience. Waves that are ten times more powerful than a traditional ski boat do not dissipate in 200 feet. Anyone watching a wake surfer can see this with his/her own eyes. Also, the 200 foot buffer does not take account for the fact that a wake boat in wake surf mode churns up sediment up to 26 feet deep. Finally, the 200 buffer doesn’t address the safety issues to all other people on the lake who are impacted no matter how far off the shore the wake surfing is occurring.

Proposed ban is overreach because wake boats make up less than 4%. Rebuttal: There are approximately 40 wake boats moored on Lake Waramaug. These boats may have already caused negative impacts on our lake ecology, including a decline in water clarity over the most recent 5 years. Moreover, recreational lake users have reported numerous safety related incidents involving wake surfers. And, property owners on the lake have reported accelerated damage to shoreline and physical damage to docks. The bottom line is that there are already too many wake surfers on the lake.

Wake sport regulation will negatively impact lake property values. Rebuttal: Anything that negatively impacts the health of the lake (such as wake surfing) negatively impacts property values on and around the lake. Property values on the lake are connected directly to the health of the lake. When the lake was in decline during the 1960-early 1980s, property values were also low. As the lake was restored to health by the work of the Lake Waramaug Task Force, Lake Waramaug Authority and Lake Waramaug Association, property values started to rise to their current levels. This makes sense: A healthy lake draws people! A damaged, unhealthy lake would surely lower property on and around the lake.

Wake surfing regulation is an affront to personal freedom in the enjoyment of a public resource. Rebuttal: Wake surfing poses a safety risk to many many others on the lake, and thus infringe on their freedom to enjoy this public resource. We’re representing an active community of kayakers, canoers, standup paddle boards, rowers, fishermen as well as water and jet skiers. The negative environmental impact of wake surfers notwithstanding, there is no valid argument that the rights of a few extreme wake surfers outweigh the rights of a multiple of other lake users. As for regulation of individual recreation, our community accepts that snowmobiles are not permitted in Steep Rock Preserve.

Boater education should be tried first before restrictions are enacted. Rebuttal: Wake surfing is just not a good fit for our small, narrow, shallow lake. Any wake surfing on the lake poses an environmental threat. Moreover, boater education would not prevent people who launch their boats onto the lake from introducing invasive species into the lake. Boater education will not protect the lake or the people on it from wake surfing.

If wake boat rules are adopted, our three towns will soon regulate all motorboats similarly. Rebuttal: The proposed ordinance explicitly states it does not apply to motorboat sports such as waterskiing, jet skiing or tubing.

Wake boats are purchased at significant expense; owners should be compensated. Rebuttal: Under the proposed ordinance, wake boat owners can still use their boats for waterskiing and cruising on the lake. There was never a representation made that the extreme sport of wake surfing would be allowed on Lake Waramaug.

Property owners should install more robust structures to avoid wake-induced damage. Rebuttal: Of course not! Wake surfing wake exceeds natural wind and waves from traditional boating activities. According to Connecticut law, a boater is responsible for damages caused by his or her wake, which includes shoreline erosion, damage to docks, and injuries to people or property. There is no reasonable basis for a few wake surfers to transfer the expense of protection and remediation to lakeside property owners.

Lake property owners supporting the proposed ban just want the lake for themselves. Rebuttal: Lake Waramaug is public property owned by the state. As such, it is regulated to protect traditional water uses and the environment. Lakeside property owners were more than happy with all of the activity on the lake before the arrival of wake surfing. Wake surfing upset the balance of recreational activity on the lake.