Wakesurfing on Lake Minnetonka: Advocacy group wants new, strict rules
New wakesurfing rules sought for Lake Minnetonka
Advocacy groups are looking for rules and restrictions on wakesurfing on Lake Minnetonka. FOX 9 Investigator Nathan O'Neal has the story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An advocacy group is pushing for strict wakesurfing rules on Lake Minnetonka after recent video studies revealed the impact the higher-powered boats can have on lake bottoms.
New wakesurfing rules proposed for Lake Minnetonka
What we know:
The advocacy group Citizens for Sharing Lake Minnetonka is pushing to further limit where wakesurfing boats can operate on one of Minnesota’s most popular lakes.
The organization wants wakesurfing boats to only operate at least 600 feet from the shoreline, in depths of at least 20 feet, and in areas where there is at least 100 acres of continuous surface water.
Wake boats are specially designed to sit deeper in the lake to displace more water and create a bigger, more surfable wave.
"We’re not trying to ban wakesurfing on the lake," said John Bendt, President of Citizens for Sharing Lake Minnetonka. "We’re advocating that wakesurfing zones be established on Lake Minnetonka."
The other side:
The boating and water sports industry have pushed back against efforts to enact more restrictive regulations on wakesurfing.
"This is simply an attempt by an activist organization to restrict a family-friendly, safe, accessible water sport on Minnesota’s most popular lake by singling out a small subset of watercraft while ignoring the broader impact of recreational boating," said Lee Gatts, Vice President of Government Relations for the Water Sports Industry Association.
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The backstory:
Wakesurfing on Lake Minnetonka has been controversial and the subject of fierce debate for several years, resulting in new boating rules in 2023 involving speed and distance from the shoreline.
The new proposal includes even stricter rules based on a new study from the University of Minnesota that recommends boats only operate in wake mode in depths greater than 20 feet.
Underwater videos from that study show the difference between a wake boat and a standard recreational boat operating in the same depths.
The study found that turbulence from wake boats can stir up sediments in the water, releasing nutrients like phosphorus, which can lead to excessive algae growth and "adversely impacts lakes."
A previous study from the university found wake boats need a distance of more than 500 feet to decrease waves similar to that of a standard recreational boat operating at 200 feet.
The boating industry points to its own study that shows the "environmental impact is minimal" when wake boats operate 200 feet from shore and in just 10 feet of water.
Wakesurfing enthusiasts and business owners argue more drastic rules create unnecessary limits on the public’s right to use public bodies of water.
"What are we going to limit next?" asked Adam Moore, a wakesurfing business owner.
Dig deeper:
The FOX 9 Investigators have been tracking the growing push to restrict wakesurfing on lakes across the state.
Since previous legislative efforts to pass statewide regulations failed, wakesurfing critics launched a campaign to pass local bans or restrictions.
Last year, property owners on Caribou Lake in Cook County successfully petitioned the county and state to implement a local ordinance effectively banning wakesurfing on the lake.
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A similar campaign in Wisconsin has led to new bans or restrictions on more than 400 lakes.
"We’d like to see the same thing happen within the State of Minnesota," said Steve Frawley with the organization Safe Wakes.
Safe Wakes estimates that only about 500 lakes in Minnesota (out of 11, 842) are big enough and deep enough to handle wakesurfing.
But passing restrictions on the local level requires a petition process and approvals by local government and the state.
For Lake Minnetonka, any new rules would have to be approved by the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, which had to navigate through a fierce debate before passing much more timid restrictions in 2022.
"We are aware of the recent University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory project report on recreation powerboat hydrodynamics and their impacts," said Ann Hoelscher, board chair of the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District. "Right now, we are gathering more information and have invited the authors of the study to present at a public board meeting."