Lake bottoms suffer when wakesurf boats rev up, study finds

Submitted Photo In recent years, researchers from the University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Laboratory have been looking at lake impacts from wakesufing boats. Photo courtesy Healthy Waters Initiative, University of Minnesota.

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