Wakesurfing 'stalemate' in Madison; lawsuit challenges local restrictions

WHITEWATER, Wis. - Wisconsin's water war over wakesurfing is being waged in a series of contentious local battles, pitting neighbors against neighbors in small towns and lake communities across the state. Meanwhile, state lawmakers have yet to introduce anything to resolve the conflict in the current legislative session.

Stalemate in Madison

What we know:

On the statewide level, Scott Rolfs calls it a stalemate.

"I think there's a strong division in the Republican Party over what to do with this," he said.

Rolfs is an officer of Lakes at Stake, one of 80 organizations that now belong to the Coalition to Protect Wisconsin Lakes, formed for the express purpose of restricting what they call "wake-enhanced boating" in Wisconsin.

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"Everybody who fishes, kayaks, sails, boats, swims, owns property, has a peer or dock, they get this issue really easily," he said.

The coalition recently met with wakesurfing supporters in the office of State Senator Mary Felzkowski, a Republican from Tomahawk. In a statement to FOX6, Felzkowski called it "a good initial conversation," but said there was "no initial general consensus."

A nasty spill

What they're saying:

Chris Marion says wakesurfing is the only water sport he can do now. In 2017, Marion was part of the Chain Skimmers demonstration ski team in Conover, Wisconsin. At the end of a barefoot training run, he took a nasty spill.

"I kind of caught a toe, as they say in the barefoot community, and aggressively fell forward," he said.

Marion's chin fell directly into the handle of the tow-rope at 43 miles per hour. It yanked his head so hard it caused an internal decapitation.

"It, like, literally ripped my head off my spine," he said.

With eight cervical screws in his neck, Marion made a miraculous return to the water the next summer. Only this time, he was on a surfboard going 10 miles per hour instead of 40.

"Not being able to do that and not being able to get behind the board to me, would be devastating," he said.

Big waves, slow speed

The backstory:

Wakesurfing is a sport that relies on boats specially designed to create an artificially-enhanced wake. The boats have hulls with ballast tanks that can be filled with lake water to weigh them down in the back, creating a larger wave than you would normally find behind other powerboats, such as pontoons or ski boats. They are also equipped with shaping plates that push the wake to one side, which also increases the wave's height. Like water-skiing, wake surfing begins with a tow-rope, but once a surfer begins riding the wave, they can toss the rope back into the boat and surf untethered.

To generate the largest wave, however, wake boats operate at slower speeds, usually 10–11 miles per hour. At that speed, the boat never planes (levels out). Instead, it plows through the water with the bow tilted up. 

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Critics say the "bow high" operation leads to prop wash that scours the bottom of shallow lakes, harming weeds and fish habitat. They say the larger waves can erode shorelines. And, they say, the ballast tanks are prone to transferring invasive species from lake to lake.

Science ‘does not support’ claims

The other side:

Wakesurfing supporters say there's no reliable science to support those claims. 

"I just don't think you take people's rights away unless you've got a compelling case, and the science does not support these claims," said William Banholzer, a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and a self-proclaimed expert in fluid mechanics. 

Banholzer says the studies wakesurfing critics often point to are biased and have not been thoroughly peer-reviewed. 

"I think if you have a predominance of people that hate wake boats, it doesn't matter what the science says." 

54 local ordinances

Local perspective:

While state lawmakers have yet to take action, wakesurfing critics are fighting to restrict wake-enhanced boating in small towns and lake districts across the state. While the state has the primary responsibility to protect Wisconsin waterways, Wisconsin gives local governments more power to regulate local lakes than any other state.

Wakesurfing critics are taking advantage of that local control by aggressively pursuing ordinances that restrict wake boat operation on inland lakes. 

More than 100 people recently packed a public meeting in the Town of Whitewater, home to both Whitewater Lake and Rice Lake. More than 40 people spoke at the hearing, roughly half in support of wakesurfing, half against.

"I find this to be an incredibly inclusive, healthy activity to do with my family," said Sally Kutsor, a Whitewater Lake property owner.

"The problem is we don't have a very big lake," said Steve Ducommun, also a property owner there.

The Whitewater Town Board has yet to decide what to do, but a growing number of communities are voting to restrict wake boat operation.

Over a 15-year period from 2009 to 2023, a total of 15 local ordinances aimed at wakesurfing were implemented in Wisconsin. In 2024, the number surged to 36. So far in 2025, another 18 ordinances have been approved for a total of 54, covering more than 400 Wisconsin lakes.

"The wake boat manufacturers right now are really on their heels," Rolfs said.

"The real problem," Banholzer said, "is that the bans are not based on scientific facts. They're based on prejudices or bias or exaggerated claims."

Constitutional challenge

What's next:

While more communities consider wake-enhancement restrictions, property owners in far northwestern Wisconsin are going to court. 

Republican Party donor and millionaire Chad McEver of Texas is one of three plaintiffs who own property on Birch Island Lake in the Town of Scott in Burnett County. In May, they sued over the town's newly-enacted wake-enhancement restrictions, calling the ordinance "unconstitutionally vague" and a violation of the state's Public Trust Doctrine, which ensures lakes and rivers are accessible to all.

"Water is a public trust," Banholzer said. "It belongs to all of us."

The ordinance being challenged was based on a model ordinance template created by the Last Wilderness Alliance. It's the same essential ordinance being passed in communities all over the state.

"I think everybody involved in this effort knew there was going to be a legal challenge," Rolfs said. Still, he believes local control is necessary to ensure the smallest, shallowest, most vulnerable lakes can be protected.

"You can't wakesurf on every lake in Wisconsin," he said. "A lot of them just aren't suitable for it."

The court's decision in Burnett County could have ripple effects across Wisconsin. For now, summer continues. And the water war remains fluid.