A Proposal: Extend "Slow/No Wake" Beyond Current Flood Conditions

The current "Slow/No Wake" Order for the Madison-area lakes has helped mitigate shoreline damage from extremely high water levels this season. The Order has also made the lakes far more pleasant for sailboaters, kayakers, canoeists, and swimmers, as well as the casual shoreline walker like myself.

Now that the lakes have begun to slightly recede from their all-time high levels, power boaters will start to pressure the County to lift the Order in time for the busy Fourth of July weekend. Barring a severe and sudden drop in the lakes' levels, there is no good reason to lift the Order now beyond the economic impact of fewer power boaters.

In a few weeks of normal or less than normal rainfall, however, the levels should drop a bit and pressure to lift the Order will intensify, and sometime later this summer things will return to normal.  Boats will line up and wait for an hour or more to go through the Tenney Park Locks so they can navigate from one large lake to the other and back to see if, indeed, the algae is greener on the other side.

Here's a proposal that will draw fire from power boaters of all stripes: water skiers, raft-up partiers, and fisherpersons: how about extending the Slow/No Wake Order on a one day per week basis for the rest of the year?  Rotate the No Wake day through the week so that it's a weekend day two weeks of every seven and a weekday for five weeks. That would be fair to all, and help the shoreline property owners, the non-fossil fuel boaters, the environment, and the quality of the lakes.  Any County Board members ready to commit political suicide and take up this proposal?

- Barry Orton