New Study Examines Impacts from Boat Wakes

The Journal of Water Resource and Protection recently published a new paper titled, Numerical Study of the Impact of Wake Surfing on Inland Bodies of Water.

The paper quantifies the impact related to turbidity and erosion with the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of boat wakes in shallow water and the build-up of wind driven waves. In its findings, the paper details that when wake surfing at least 200 feet from shore and in water that has a depth of at least 10 feet, the environmental impact is minimal.

The paper also concludes:

• Boat wakes dissipate quickly and have little impact on shorelines compared to wind driven waves.
• Multiple simulations show great loss of wave energy at various distances from shorelines. In each case, a boat operating at 200 feet from shore and in water depths greater than 10 feet are optimal for shoreline and environmental health.
• The amount of sediment caused by shoreline erosion from boat traffic or wind driven waves is insignificant compared to the amount of sediment that flows in naturally through a lake’s watershed.
• Boat wakes can increase oxygenation, which is beneficial for aquatic species.

The research used advanced simulations to analyze possible shoreline erosion and turbidity that wake surfing causes on waters’ bottom and shoreline impacts. The energy, type and direction of a boat’s wake are described quantitatively in tables, which may be used for predicting wind driven waves over varying fetches, depth and wind speeds is provided.

The study can be accessed online at: https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=116094

For questions or additional information on the study, please contact David Dickerson, vice president of state government relations, at ddickerson@nmma.org.