Residents of three towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut, voted in favor of an ordinance banning a popular form of recreation on Lake Waramaug, The Middletown Press reported.

"Wakeboating" is an umbrella term encompassing the vessels themselves — designed to create a large "wake," tall waves trailing as boats move through water — as well as activities like wakesurfing, wakeboarding, tubing, and water skiing.

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Newly released research from the University of Minnesota offers a deeper look at the trouble below the surface when wake boats pass over at shallower depths. The findings may revive calls for statewide restrictions on wakesurfing. They're also likely to churn up the ongoing debate over the state's changing lake culture and who gets to shape it. Story by Kirsti Marohn Video captured by Ben Hovland, video edit by Anne Guttridge

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Wakeboating and associated activities have steadily increased in popularity in recent years, and objections have risen in tandem. A massive wake is often disruptive to other lake boaters and kayakers, but the issue goes beyond inconvenience and safety.

On July 31, concerned citizens from the towns of Kent, Washington, and Warren made their voices heard on the matter of wakeboat activities, overwhelmingly favoring a ban. When their votes were tallied, 78% voted to ban wakeboating, with 22% opposing the measure.

Opponents of the ban claimed the impact was minimal. But Lake Waramaug isn't the only shallow lake where wakeboating has become controversial, in large part due to the environmental damage it causes in these bodies of water.

In early August, Minnesota Public Radio (@mprnews) covered a similar controversy involving Lake Minnetonka on TikTok, referencing a recent University of Minnesota study quantifying the ecological effects of wakeboating in shallow waters.

Researchers determined that wakeboating disrupted lakebed sediments, affecting water quality and adversely impacting wildlife and plants, particularly "in depths of nine feet and 14 feet."

Lead researcher Jeff Marr told MPR that wakeboating has "a big impact under the water," agitating finer particles of sediment that "settle" more slowly.

"If [sediment] gets really worked up into the water column, it can actually prevent light from getting far down into the lake," Marr explained. "The nutrients in the water can lead to algae blooms, which can further reduce water quality."

Harmful algal blooms are an increasingly common problem as climate patterns shift, and it's one of the issues members of the group Protect Lake Waramaug cited in an open letter calling for a wakeboating ban.

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"We know wake surfing churns the lake bottom. We know the lake bottom is where phosphates exist. We know phosphates feed algae blooms, which will destroy the lake," it wrote, also pointing to "shoreline damage" and "eroded banks" caused by wakeboating.

Ultimately, the landslide result "pleased" Washington First Selectman Jim Brinton.

"It's what's best for the health of the lake and the safety of the people that use it," Brinton said of the wakeboarding ban.

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