It is a fair question, and we have heard it from several people. We have carefully considered all of the proposals that we’ve heard from the wake surfers, but the truth is our lake is just too small, narrow and shallow to accommodate wake surfing.  

At the outset, wake surfing is both a safety hazard for all lake users and an environmental threat to the lake.  

Zones do not address safety issues from powerful waves that travel five times farther than conventional motorboat waves.  Any designated zones and hundreds of feet around them would remain totally unsafe for swimmers, paddlers, kayakers and other boaters.

Also, there are now so many wake surfers on the lake - we estimate hundreds of passes by surfers every summer, perhaps even thousands - that any special zones would be overrun and extremely dangerous.  

There is no way to enforce wake surfing zones. The negative impact of wake surfing on a Tuesday at 11am is the same as on Saturday. There would need to be dawn to dusk, seven-day a week enforcement of any wake surf regulations. Moreover, there is no way for lake authorities to write citations for depth (no such technology exists) or distance.  

We have never “cordoned off” large sections of the lake for the exclusive use of a tiny minority of lake users.  It would be a controversial, and we think unacceptable, precedent for Lake Waramaug.

We sent this letter to the Selectmen of the 3 towns to explain why a compromise is not an option:

June 10, 2025

Re:  Isn’t there a compromise?  Sadly, no.  Lake Waramaug is just too small, narrow and shallow to accommodate any wake surfing. 

Dear Kent Selectmen [cc’d Washington and Warren Selectmen]:

We hear this question as well and are writing to share our reasoning. 

Wake surfing proponents argue that a ban is too harsh – that there should be a compromise.  They propose limiting wave surfing to specified areas much closer to shore and much shallower than the 26’ minimum depth recommended by the independent science - including the Terra Vigilis written study and video summary commissioned by the three towns and the Lake Waramaug Task Force.   

It is human nature to compromise, so we have studied the wake surfing proponents’ various proposals carefully. 

We are not a tiny group of extreme environmental fanatics.  Across the nation communities are saying no to wake surfing, and have passed laws protecting more than 300 lakes and other bodies of water in order to address grave environmental and safety concerns.   The science of the environmental risks of wake surfing is well-established, widely accepted and largely complete.   

We begin by discussing the environmental concerns raised by wake surfing, especially for our unique and fragile Lake, and then move on to safety concerns raised by our larger Lake community.   From either viewpoint, science or safety:  

The truth is, our Lake is just too small, narrow and shallow to accommodate wake surfing.  It is an activity that is meant for much larger bodies of water.    

Again with the Science …

Instituting the good scientific findings of Terra Vigilis, which are consistent with widely accepted independent research across the nation, means that wake surfing is a practical impossibility on our Lake.  

We want to share with you a map that we commissioned, prepared by a licensed engineer and surveyor, based on the most recent sonar bathymetry of the lake bottom (from 2023), that applies the Terra Vigilis recommendations to the topography of our Lake.  The map shows that only two small patches of the Lake, shaded dark blue, meet all of these recommendations.

Limiting wake surfing to small patches in line with the Terra Vigilis findings would unfairly burden those nearby neighbors - including the Washington town beach - with dangerous crashing shorelines waves and would not address the multitude of safety and other concerns of other Lake users. 

Indeed, creating two tiny zones where wake surfing were allowed would create still more safety concerns by drawing all wakeboats to small, dedicated areas of the Lake, where the likelihood of accidents would be dramatically increased. 

What are the Wake Surfers Proposing?

The last proposal we saw from wake surfing proponents calls for limiting wake surfing to certain hours of the day (11 am to 5 pm) outside of a mere 200’ buffer zone in at least 20’ of water:

●      This proposal completely discards all of the findings of Terra Vigilis and other independent scientists about environmental damage from wake surfing in water so shallow and so close to shore. 

●      In addition, there is no way for a lake authority to enforce these kinds of boundaries.  

●      We understand that there is no technology for police to enforce a “depth’ limit.

●      Wake surfing necessitates excessive and powerful waves that do not dissipate to regular size motorboat waves for at least 500-600’.  So large areas of the lake would remain unsafe and unusable for the vast majority of lake users. 

●      It would be unprecedented to “cordon off” large portions of the lake for the exclusive use of a small minority of users.  Really, it is too much to ask of so many for the benefit of so few. 

●      Buffer zones inherently do not address the serious additional environmental risks posed by ballast tanks in these boats, which pollute our lake with anti-freeze, and cannot be properly inspected at our boat launch, risking irreversible invasive weed outbreaks that will ruin our Lake and cost taxpayers money every year to mitigate. 

Vermont allows wake surfing in its largest lakes within designated buffer zones of at least 60 acres, 500’ from shore, and 20’ of water.  Note that there is nowhere on our Lake that would qualify using these existing Vermont rules.  And - 10 of these Vermont lakes are now petitioning for even greater restrictions, with a 1000’ buffer.   

Wake Surfers say they don’t use their boats very often so their impact on the lake is de minimus. 

We considered this argument carefully - it is likely that some families wake surf infrequently. 

●      It’s actually quite a large number of boats and surfers: estimates are that there are at least 40 wake boats on our small Lake. 

●      We should expect there will be more - as used boats become more affordable, and the popularity of the sport rises in part due to social media.

●      There are a lot of people surfing in every boat - 65 people responding to the towns’ survey said they engaged in wake surfing.  The actual number of individual surfers is likely in the hundreds and the number of surfing passes would of course be much higher.  

●      Preliminary studies also are showing that a single boat operating for just a few passes can scour a significant amount of lake bottom, raising phosphates and disturbing a lake’s thermocline. 

●      The Task Force’s study (see p. 21)  showed that the wave from a single wake boat hitting the shore of the lake raises phosphate levels in our Lake in a significant and concerning way.  

●      The large catalogue of incidents and concerns documented by non-wake surfing families and lake users makes us wonder if this is just a matter of perspective.   See these comments here.

●      40 boats?  Possibly hundreds of surfers?  It’s too much. 

Wake Surfers are Misinformed About Water Quality

From the Lake Waramaug Task Force State of the Lake 2025: 

“When we look at the last 5 years, there is a decrease in clarity overall.”  State of the Lake 2025, page 3.  Also see Graph 4.  

The Three Towns Can Join Other Lakes Across the Country and Say No to Wake Surfing

Ending wake surfing with the ordinance under consideration today is the only way forward.  The Lake is a shared community treasure, and we need to think about how to preserve and protect it for everyone’s future. 

If the ordinance passes, wake boat owners will always be able to enjoy their boats as generations of lake goers have done - by tubing, skiing, and cruising.  And every single one of the concerns set out in this letter would disappear if wake boat owners would simply drive and have fun in their boats in water ski mode.

We are grateful for all of the time and effort that you have put into considering this issue and look forward to providing voters in the three towns with accurate and complete information as they make their decisions. 

Respectfully, 

Protect Lake Waramaug

Coalition to Ban Wake Surfing