Rule would calm water, not skiers

Ben Steverman,  Star Tribune

February 23, 2005 WLAKE0223

A proposal to regulate boating on Medicine Lake is running into resistance from residents who water ski on the lake, the second largest in Hennepin County after Lake Minnetonka. The City of Plymouth has proposed creating four no-wake zones -- places where boats could go only at speeds so slow that they don't make any waves -- on the 936-acre lake.

Water skiers view the proposed ordinance as an unnecessary annoyance, but proponents say the no-wake areas would protect plants -- such as bulrush and lily pads -- that live near the surface of the water.

Those plants provide habitat for wildlife and help improve the lake's water quality, said John Barten, the Three Rivers Park District water resources manager, who has studied Medicine Lake for 15 years.

Research on other lakes has shown that fast boat traffic over or near plant beds can stir up sediment and prevent germination of new plants, he said. "It's a better lake with these plants," said Plymouth City Engineer Ron Quanbeck. Plus, Quanbeck added, "They're very hard to reestablish once they're gone."  He said the no-wake zones are based on extensive research that has been done on Medicine Lake, part of an effort to improve the lake's water quality.

The lake is classified by the state as an "impaired resource," suffering from poor water quality and algae blooms. The city has funded efforts to prevent erosion and reduce the amount of water runoff into the lake, and it has used chemicals to fight invasive species of plants.

Would they help?

Bruce Larson, who lives on the lake and often waterskis, supports other efforts to improve water quality but says the no-wake zones don't make sense. First, Larson says, boats already avoid weedy areas. "The last thing you want to do is drive your boat into the weeds," he said. Under the ordinance, buoys would mark the edge of the no-wake zones. Boaters would be permitted to create as much of a wave as they want as long as they are outside the zone.

Larson says that's silly, since it does little to protect the weeds from waves created just outside the zone. It also doesn't protect the weeds from boat propellers, because boats would still be allowed to enter the zones if they go slow enough.

He said the buoys also would create a "confusing situation" on the north arm of the lake, a narrow stretch of water that boaters say is great for water skiing because it has fewer waves and is protected from wind. Two no-wake zones are proposed on either side of the north arm.

Even with the no-wake zones, there would be enough room for boaters to operate up the north arm -- about 520 feet between the two zones. But Larson said he's worried that the buoys, marked "no wake zones," would be confusing, either to the Hennepin County Sheriff's water patrol and boaters or to onlookers who may think that the entire passage  into the north arm is a no wake zone. A few buoys asking boaters to keep away from bulrush and lily pad areas would be all right, but it doesn't make sense as a rule for police to enforce, he said.

Barten said that the buoys would be easy to understand, just like buoys on Lake Minnetonka.

Cities must decide

The ordinance would need approval from both the city of Plymouth and the city of Medicine Lake, the small municipality that occupies a peninsula in the southern portion of the lake.

Medicine Lake Mayor Mary Anne Young said the proposal is likely to come up at her city's next council meeting, at 7 p.m. on March 7 at City Hall, 10609 South Shore Dr. Young said she would wait until the meeting to make up her mind on the ordinance.

The Plymouth City Council is unlikely to consider the proposal until late March, Quanbeck said.

The Association of Medicine Lake Area Citizens, a group of residents who live on the lake, met last week and seem divided on the proposal, according to Jonathan Eklin, president of the group.

"I would like to see it studied some more," Eklin said. He said he hasn't seen enough scientific data to back up proponents' case for the no-wake zones. Starting to regulate boat traffic on the lake is a big step and should only be taken as a last resort, he said.

Contact the writer at 612-673-7168 or [email-masked].