Wake surfing on Lake Waramaug faces uncertain future

KENT — A new study conducted at Lake Waramaug that explores the potential public safety and ecological risks of wake surfing has met some public pushback from some water sports enthusiasts.

The study was contracted by the towns of Washington, Warren and Kent — the three towns in which the lake is contained — in 2023 through the Lake Waramaug Interlocal Commission. The Lake Waramaug Task Force, a non-profit dedicated towards protecting the ecology and water quality of the lake, located infrastructure security and environmental services firm Terra Vigilis as a candidate to run the study. The group completed its research in 2024 and published its final report in December.

Washington hosted an informational meeting on the evening of Jan. 30, in which representatives of Terra Vigilis presented their findings and fielded questions from the public. Washington First Selectman James Brinton emphasized that there would be no action or vote at the meeting, as it was meant to be purely informative.

Terra Vigilis CEO Timothy Tyre spoke to a busy Zoom audience as well as a robust live crowd at Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington Depot as he went through the findings, which primarily concerned impacts to the lake bottom from wake boats while operating in “surf mode.”

Wake surfing is a sport in which the participant surfs on the wake of a heavy boat as it travels at slow speeds, usually between eight and ten miles per hour. Boats use various methods to produce a larger wake, though many modern designs rely on fillings ballasts – large sacks of water that weigh down certain parts of the hull – and other measures meant to push the stern of the boat deeper to displace more water, which then creates a higher and stronger wave.

Tyre compared the impacts of “large displacement waves” from wake boats in surf mode to the wakes created by more traditional waterski craft, which are lighter and “plane” on the surface rather than displace water.

Tyre reported that their findings found that the wave heights from the large displacement waves were “two to four times higher” than those created by waterskiing and cruising vessels. He also said that propeller downwash from wake boats in surf mode was detected up to 26 feet in depth, while a traditional waterski boat would only cause disturbance at up to “eight or nine feet” of depth.

The disturbance caused by the deep propagation of energy, Tyre reported, caused “sediment redistribution with nutrient release,” which includes the possibility of buried toxins being redistributed in the water column.

When the public comment section opened, several attendants wanted to know more about specific data regarding potential toxicity in the water, but Tyre was unable to provide satisfactory data as he said the study had not focused on measuring the chemistry of the lake.

Other viewers, such as Keith Angel who resides along the lakeshore, questioned why tubing wasn’t begetting scrutiny when it also produces large wakes. Tyre said that the bottom line of the study’s findings was that the waves produced by these boats in surf mode were fundamentally different from the wake of planing vessels.

Marc Rogg, who owns Echo Bay Marina on Candlewood Lake, questioned the horsepower figures Tyre used in his presentation, saying the power on the wake boats was overstated while waterski and casual craft’s horsepower were under-represented. He also doubted the study’s recommendation of a 500-foot buffer zone between a wake boat in surf mode and another vessel, the shore or other sensitive areas, claiming that the number was unprecedented amongst guidelines used elsewhere in the state and country.

Wake surfing is a relatively new presence on Connecticut’s lakes, having erupted as a popular watersport in the U.S. over the past 15 years or so, and as such is not yet regulated by state statute beyond laws that apply to waterskiing. The rules that apply to wake surfing are the same as those mandated to vessels towing water skiers under Connecticut General Statute, 15-134.

In a follow-up interview, Selectman Brinton said that no new ordinances have been passed regulating watercraft on the lake since the 2016 ban of sea planes. He was also careful to point out that, at the time of the Jan. 30 meeting, no new ordinance regarding wake surfing was currently under review by the BOS.

The next steps, he said, were to hold discussions with the other towns and then take ideas produced in those talks back to the Selectmen. There is currently no mention of watercraft regulation on any posted BOS agenda in the three towns, though Brinton indicated that Warren and Kent may hold similar informational meetings to report the Terra Vigilis findings.