Clean Water Updates
Current issues updated as necessary to keep our Clean Water supporters informed.
*Posted 6/9/2025- Wisconsin Lakes at Stake newsletter provides latest news on Wakeboat legislation.
We at OCCWA are just one of 80 Wisconsin based groups supporting meaningful wakeboat legislation. We would like to share the latest update from Wisconsin Lakes at Stake. The message below is a direct copy of their latest newsletter. If you would like to join their email list, you can do so at Join Our Email List — Lakes at Stake
Important Wakeboat Legislative Update
Welcome to the latest edition of the Lakes at Stake Wisconsin newsletter! We are dedicated to preserving the beauty and safety of Wisconsin’s treasured glacial lakes. This is a brief update on what is happening in Madison.
On May 28th there was a meeting at the Capital with a group of legislators along with wakeboat lobbyists and our Lakes at Stake Wisconsin lobbyist. The purpose of the meeting was to see if consensus could be reached on statewide wakesurfing legislation.
During the meeting State Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) made it clear to all meeting participants that she would oppose any state legislation that limited or qualified local control in any respect on this issue. We applaud Senator Felzkowski for this position. Lakes and rivers in Wisconsin are unique and different, and many towns have already implemented their own ordinances or are contemplating enacting something in the months ahead. We welcome other legislators and the Governor to also affirm or reaffirm that full local control is their position as well.
The wakeboat industry’s primary goal with any statewide legislation is to pre-empt this local control, whether an outright prohibition on local ordinances or by putting some type of collar on local control. Examples of a collar might be: Your town may only have a wakesurf ordinance if you have a certain amount of annual water patrol hours, or the ordinance would need to be passed by unanimous vote, etc. Sen. Felzkowski’s commitment doesn’t mean we are out of the woods on the local control issue but having her as a champion on this point is very important and welcome.
There still is a push by a small handful of legislators to want watered down wakeboat operational standards, such as only 200 or 300 feet from shore and zero or minimal depth requirements.
We’d like to remind those in Madison that:
- Public opinion on this issue is now heavily on the side of serious reforms, whether in polls, surveys or Wisconsin Conservation Congress votes.
- The reputable science is on the side of serious wakesurfing reforms
- 53 municipalities and counting, who have enacted town ordinances covering 310 of the 2,350 lakes over 50-acres are on the side of serious wakesurfing reform
- A growing and bipartisan coalition of 80 Wisconsin based groups are on the side of reform.
Over the past two years the wakeboat industry has continued to maintain that wake surfing 200’ from shore with no minimum depth requirement is sufficient to protect Wisconsin’s glacial lakes.
The wakeboat manufacturers seem to be oblivious to the fact that existing state statutes mandate a minimum 100’ slow-no-wake zone to protect shorelines and swimmers and that many municipalities, exercising local control, have increased their slow-no wake zones to 200’ and in some cases 300’. Thus 200 feet from shore isn’t any different than existing slow-no-wake regulations for a number of Wisconsin lakes.
All of the reputable in-water studies that have been undertaken in the U.S. have concluded that wake surf waves require 600’ to diminish in size and energy to equal other typical power boats at 200’ from shore. There is no justification for allowing perhaps less than 1% of Wisconsin’s registered boat owners to risk damaging shorelines, docks and boat lifts, not to mention endangering swimmers near shorelines.
And this is before accounting for lake depth. We’re only beginning to understand the full impacts of downward prop wash on lake bottoms. Testing on Lake Waramaug in Connecticut in 2024, produced video of disturbance as deep as 26 feet. Additional testing is on-going. Bottom scouring is a serious issue in that it damages fish habitat, increases nutrients in the water column that can lead to algae blooms, and increases turbidity.
Before Wisconsin legislators rush forward with industry recommended regulations, they should ask the wake boat industry to prove why their numbers are sufficient to protect our glacial lakes. You can draw your own conclusions as to why their industry has yet to agree to transparent testing on lakes here in Wisconsin. We’ve challenged the wakeboat manufacturers to no avail.
The vast majority of Wisconsin lake users have made their position clear that they do not want to see their lakes continue to be battered by these boats designed to produce massive artificial wake. We don’t allow Monster Trucks to run through public parks. We need to protect our lakes in the same way.
Hold the wakeboat manufacturer’s accountable for their products and vet their claims before putting our lakes at risk.
Thank you!
**Posted 6/11/2025- Wisconsin's Joint Finance Committee (JFC) approves money for clean water, just not for private well owners?
In our April 24th article we made two requests for the JFC to approve two of the Governor's budget recommendations. Those recommendations were as follows:
1) Budget proposal.
Support $725.9 million in revenue bonds that will fund state match requirements and expand loan opportunities through the Drinking Water Loan Program and the Clean Water Fund Program. This critical investment will support much-needed drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure across Wisconsin.
2) Budget Proposal.
$143.6 million for the DNR to support PFAS monitoring and remediation across Wisconsin. This will provide support for sampling, research, public health interventions, emergency response, and disposal activities.
Well, the good news is that half that request has come true. In a June 6th WPR article Legislature's budget-writing committee boosts borrowing by $732M for water programs - WPR the details were shared.
"The Joint Committee on Finance voted Thursday to increase borrowing by $732.2 million under the state’s Environmental Improvement Fund, which includes the clean water fund and safe drinking water loan programs.
The fund is supported by federal grants that require a 20 percent state match that generally needs to be in hand prior to receiving federal funds. Lawmakers voted to increase borrowing by $73.6 million to meet the required state match for four years.
The committee also approved a $658.5 million increase to fund about 87 percent of anticipated financial need among communities. The state projects they will seek around $1.6 billion in loans for clean water and safe drinking water projects under the next two-year state budget, as well as nearly $1.3 billion in the 2027-29 biennium."
Now true enough there is much to be excited about. Monies for city and town infrastructure such as public water filtration systems, wastewater treatment plant facilities and more will become more readily available. Can the City of Rhinelander use these monies to address their PFAS issues? Maybe, but the question one has to ask is, what about private well owners? What about the people in the town of Stella? Where's the money for them?
Those answers have yet to be addressed. Those answers are in the second budget request not approved as of yet by the JFC. The $143.6 million for the DNR to support PFAS monitoring and remediation across Wisconsin that will provide support for sampling, research, public health interventions, emergency response, and disposal activities. Yes, that request would address private well owners and all the issues that come along with contaminated soil and aquifers.
Make no mistake, $146 million is only a drop in the bucket, but it is a start. A start that the JFC and our local legislators should not deny. Hopefully, crossed fingers, and some gentle nudging will secure some relief for those who drink from their own well. We at OCCWA have begun our nudging at the recent Oneida County Conservation Committee. Now we need the public to help.
Nudge here it only takes a few minutes:
Senator Felzkowski Contacts
Email Sen.Felzkowski@legis.wisconsin.gov
Phone # (608) 266-2509
Representative Swearingen Contacts
rep.swearingen@legis.wisconsin.gov
Phone # (608) 266-7141
**Posted 6/6/2025- Trout Lake Station newsletter shares all that's going on at our own Northwood, University of Wisconsin research center.
In an OCCWA April 16th article Susan Knight shared all that goes on at our mysterious University of Wisconsin research center. In that article we learned the history of Trout Lake Station and what exactly they do. Susan was also gracious enough to host OCCWA recently on a tour of their campus. On that tour we saw a scientific campus gearing up for a summer season of monitoring and continued study of our northern lakes. Watching the students moving into their summer housing units for an adventure they certainly will remember for a lifetime reminds one how special the place we live is.
With that we would like to share Trout Lake Station Director Gretchen Gerrish's newsletter below:
We are thrilled to share the Trout-Lake-Station-Newsletter-2025.pdf with all of you. In this newsletter, we highlight exciting new spaces, community members, and projects up-and-coming at TLS for the 2025 summer! We enjoy hearing from our colleagues, alumni and friends.
If you have any updates, please contact us. · Support Trout Lake Station· Blog · Facebook· YouTube
As always, thank you for supporting the UW-Madison Center for Limnology Trout Lake Station! We are looking forward to a safe and productive 2025 summer at Trout Lake Station and wish the same for all of you!
Gretchen Gerrishggerrish@wisc.eduDirector Trout Lake Station
**Posted 6/3/2025- Out of state residents suing Wisconsin town on its Wave Boat ordinance.
From a WPR story Wake boat owners sue northern Wisconsin town to overturn ban on wake surfing - WPR In a not so surprising development residents from Texas and Florida are suing the town of Scott in Burnett County contesting their wake surfing ordinance. The plaintiff's claim the regulation is illegal and unconstitutional. The plaintiffs' lawyers quote from the WPR article stated:
“Our lawsuit became necessary to protect our clients’ rights to legally recreate on a nearly 800-acre lake that has had zero issues with wake surfing,” Helquist stated. Helquist said a “reckoning” is coming for towns that have passed bans, saying they plan to challenge all ordinances statewide."
It is interesting to note that the plaintiff is claiming the ordinance is a ban. The ordinance does wind up being a ban on certain lakes due to the depth requirement rather than as a ban on wake boats specifically. The lake in question is Birch Island Lake. An Excerpt from the WPR article states:
"While Birch Island Lake spans 768 acres, Phillips and Barton noted it’s very shallow. The lake has a maximum depth of 13 feet. A 2021 study of a lake in Waukesha County found the jet of water created by the boats during wake surfing extends 20 feet or more below the lake’s surface."
The Last Wilderness Alliance (LWA) who have been instrumental in helping Wisconsin Towns construct their ordinances have quickly stepped in to help defend the town of Scott. An LWA statement said.
"We feel the suit is wholly baseless and are now preparing the necessary filing seeking the court’s permission to enter the case as an intervenor [1] to provide our full support to the Town. The Town of Scott is represented by a highly experienced attorney provided by their insurer, at little or no cost to the Town. If anything, this suit, which attempts to strip towns of their rights, should only increase a town’s resolve to move forward. We will continue to support the clear right of Wisconsin towns to protect their lakes and lake users."
The full LWA statement can be found here: The first Lawsuit filed in Wisconsin
**Posted 6/1/2025- Oneida County Board of Supervisors votes to support state funding of Knowles Nelson Program.
In the May Oneida County Board meeting the board voted in favor of a resolution to support continued funding for the Knowles Nelson Program (KNP). Unfortunately, it was not as simple as approving the resolution language presented by the county's Conservation & UW Extension Committe and Forestry & Recreation Committee. The problem became County Chairman Holewinski's concerns about the programs funding of land acquisitions and conservation easements.
A board discussion on the resolution ensued with the chairman attacking the resolution from the get-go and rebutting any supervisors who spoke in favor of the resolution language as presented. Many Supervisors spoke of all the KNP financial benefits the county had taken advantage over the years. Benefits that were not limited to only land acquisitions and easements. Supervisor Ted Cushing went so far as to state that voting against the resolution was akin to " Throwing the baby out with the bathwater".
With Chairman Holewinski refusing to budge, an amendment was quickly offered by Supervisor Rob Jensen. The amendment consisted of additional language stating that the county did not support "additional KNP acquisitions of land and borrowing funds" Ideally, we at OCCWA would have liked to see a vote on the original resolution before any amendments were offered. It's a fact the chairman only has one vote, same as the other 19 supervisors. Instead, the amended version of the resolution was the only version voted on and it passed.
WXPR coverage of the County Board Meeting link; Local counties pass resolutions related to Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program | WXPR In the article Katie Thoresen does an excellent job covering the details of the Oneida County Board meeting.
**Posted 5/26/25- Oneida County Lakes and Rivers Association newsletter covers resignation of Wisconsin Lakes President Dan Butkus and shares info on Six County Lakes and Rivers meeting on July 11th.
If you would like to attend OCLRA's next board meeting, it is Monday, June 9, at 9 a.m., at the ADRC building in Rhinelander, across the parking lot from Trig’s grocery. All are welcome! Below are excerpts from OCLRA's latest newsletter. For the full OCLRA newsletter visit OCLRA eNews – May 2025 ~ OCLRA
Wakeboat coalition approaches 80 member organizations Lakes at Stake Wisconsin reports that the Wakeboat Reform Coalition is now up to 79 highly diverse organizations, representing more 100,000 citizens seeking common sense minimum state standards for artificially enhanced wakesports. Local ordinances continue to spread; they have been adopted recently in the Town of Ottawa in Waukesha County, the Town of Palmyra in Walworth County, the City of Oshkosh on the Fox River, the Towns of Freedom in Forest County, and the Town of Fern in Florence County. In the Walworth County Town of East Troy, residents voted overwhelmingly on an advisory referendum in favor of a wake ordinance to protect Lake Beulah. For help in creating local ordinances against enhanced wakes, contact the Last Wilderness Alliance.
Dan Butkus resigns as Wisconsin Lakes president Dan Butkus has resigned from the Wisconsin Lakes presidency and the board of directors due to a serious medical condition that made it difficult for him to serve effectively. Dan, president since 2023, served on the board of commissioners of the Squash Lake District, advised numerous lake districts on multiple matters, is a Wisconsin Lake Leaders Institute graduate, and served as a policy watchdog in Oneida County and around the state. “Losing Dan as leader leaves a massive hole in Wisconsin Lakes that will be hard to fill,” said Michael Engleson, executive director. “That said, all of us at Wisconsin Lakes wish Dan a swift and successful recovery and hold him and his family in all of our thoughts.” Vice president Derek Kavanaugh will fill in for Dan until the board elects a new President.
OCCWA comment.: Dan Butkus will be sorely missed as Wisconsin Lakes president. In addition, Dan has been an occasional content contributor, a full-time supporter, but most of all a friend to all of us at OCCWA. We have the deepest respect for Dan's passion, professionalism, and all he's accomplished protecting Wisconsin's waters. We wish our friend a speedy recovery.
Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting July 11 “Quakes to Our Lakes: What’s Shakin’?” is the theme for the annual Northwoods Six-County Lakes and Rivers Meeting to be held at Nicolet College in Rhinelander on Friday, July 11. Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged. There is no charge for attendance.
