Study Finds Lake Bottoms Suffer When Wake Surf Boats Rev Up

(Photo courtesy Healthy Waters Initiative, University of Minnesota via Prairie News Service )

(By Mike Moen. Prairie News Service) – Boat dealers in North Dakota sell wakesurfing watercraft, as its popularity spreads. But before you buy one of these power boats, a regional study suggests careful operation to protect the health of lakes.

Wakesurfing appears to be perfect summer fun that can be taken up by most age groups. It involves riding a surfboard behind a boat, and being pulled along by the wake.

But because of the powerful waves created, conservationists worry about the possibility of shoreline erosion.

The University of Minnesota’s Saint Anthony Falls Lab has been studying this, and lab Researcher Andy Riesgraf said in certain situations, their new findings show significant disturbance to the lake bottom.