Minnesota Study Shows the Power of Wake-Surf Waves

The wakes from bigger recreation boats on Minnesota lakes have become a source of tension. New research to measure these waves could help with concerns about their environmental and public-safety impact.

This week, researchers at the University of Minnesota released a study of the difference between waves generated by boats used for wake-surfing and those associated with typical water recreation. The wake-surf boat waves were two to three times higher, with three to nine times more energy. Lead researcher Jeff Marr, associate director of engineering and facilities at the university’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, said that type of force is something most Minnesota lakes aren’t used to.

“This is a new use of a boat,” he said, “and we want to understand what does it mean, what are the implications?”

As activities such as wake-surfing gain in popularity, Marr said the next step is to use the data to measure how these powerful waves can affect lake ecology. This study indicated certain wake-surf boats require buffers of at least 425 to 500 feet from shores and docks to minimize their wake impacts.

Marr’s team made no recommendations on what rules should be established for larger and more powerful boats, but he said this new data is a good starting point for stakeholders to come together for those decisions.

“Those are interesting things to have now, because we can see wave height, we can measure wave height,” he said. “And now, the energy and power we’ve also calculated, and those might actually be more informative.”

He said wave-energy details will be useful to pinpoint shoreline erosion or vegetation loss. In recent years, legislation was proposed to establish specific boundaries for wake-surf boats, but not everyone favors that approach. Some parties are calling for more education and certification for watercraft operators.