Ban wakesurfing on river

I have been a waterfront property owner on the Spokane River since 1978 — 42 years. I have firsthand knowledge of the river’s evolution from a working river supporting six lumber mills, with zero recreation, to a river with no lumber mills, and wall to wall water sports recreation in the summertime.

Now, between Post Falls and CDA, there are hundreds of waterfront homes worth millions and millions of dollars. Owners pay hefty property taxes to Kootenai County and the various taxing districts.

I was also a member of the Kootenai County Waterways Advisory Board for the past three years; my term expired end of December. The damages being caused by the wakesurfing waves which are 2-5 feet tall and travel at a high velocity exploding onto the shoreline seawalls and docks, and what to do about it, has been discussed by many people, at virtually every meeting, without any resolution. It’s like herding cats.

This wakesurfing wave damage problem is not unique to the Spokane River. The fight is now being waged across the country in almost every state, where damages are being suffered by homeowners on lakes and rivers that are just too small for this water sport.

In Valley County, Idaho, these wakesurf wave damage issues are being fought right now over Payette Lake shoreline set-back distances. The proposal was for a setback of 1,000 feet and a total ban on tiny Warm Lake.

Most of the hundreds of homes, docks and seawalls on the Spokane River were built BEFORE wakesurfing became popular. Thus, all of the docks and seawalls were built and engineered to a height commensurate with the summer pool height of 2,128 feet above sea level and considered the waves coming in from the watercraft on the water at the time — v-hull boats, outboard motor boats, pontoon boats, jet skis, kayaks and paddleboards. To this day, these watercraft put off small waves that mostly dissipate by the time they reach the shoreline.

About three years ago, wakesurfing on the Spokane River exploded. Many more boats put off huge wakes/waves 2-5 feet high, pushing a wall of water toward the shore at high velocity. These waves literally explode off of the seawalls, and now are going OVER some people’s docks, and OVER seawalls onto front yards, flooding 8-10 feet. Riverfront homeowners are defenseless to stop the damages to their property. We can’t make the waves smaller, nor make the river wider. Only our County Commissioners can help us, through proper ordinances.

Wake surf boats are the clear minority of the Spokane River water users, constituting maybe 10 percent. The other 90 percent are v-hull boats, pontoon boats, jet skis, fishing boats, kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards, yet the wakesurf waves cause 90 percent of the property damages to the docks and seawalls and shoreline. A tiny minority is being allowed to negatively impact the clear majority. Go figure.

We need help from our Commissioners, really bad, and right now. Presently, our no-wake setback on the river is 100 feet from shore. This is insane. Even the wakesurf boat industry itself recommends a 200-foot setback from shore. It’s no wonder we homeowners are getting pummeled.

Wake surfing on the Spokane River should be prohibited. The damages issue would be solved, the issue would go away. No more wakes going over docks, no more wakes going over seawalls into the yards, no more extra expenses and maintenance, replacement and repair.

We have a legal precedent on our side, right here in Kootenai County. A while back, the CDA River banks were being severely damaged, negatively impacted and destabilized from water skiing. In their wisdom, the County Commissioners passed an ordinance that says, “Waterskiing is prohibited on the CDA River.”

End of story, black and white, easy to enforce, objective, not subjective. There is a big sign at the mouth of the river that says in big lettering: NO WATERSKIING.

We need an ordinance that says “No wakesurfing on the Spokane River, from Post Falls to CDA.” pure and simple, objective not subjective, easy to enforce.

The only way to be fair in this matter is for all findings and facts to be determined by application of science and physics as to how these wake surf waves get so big and travel so fast. After that, apply LOGIC and common sense. The river is TOO NARROW.

Realtors beware of liability. At this time, almost everybody is aware of the property damage claims by riverfront owners, at the hands of the wake surf waves. Consider this hypothetical:

Waterfront owner puts the property up for sale, knowing that he has suffered dock damages from wake surf waves, spent $$ on repairs, had some seawall damage, and knows that wake surf waves are now coming over and onto his dock. DOES he tell his Realtor? Does his Realtor have the legal duty to ask about these things? Does the Realtor have a legal duty to tell the buyer or his Realtor? Does the buyer’s Realtor have a duty to ask? To find out? Lawsuit city. What if the seller doesn’t tell anyone, as he wants to sell the property, and the buyer finds out the truth after purchase? Lawsuit city.

Wakesurfing is a water sport. As with all sports, each sport has its own specific arena, its own specific venue. A wakesurfing arena/venue should be on a LARGE body of water, a lake. Gee, we just happen to have a large lake, called Lake Coeur d’Alene. Lake CDA is the perfect arena for wakesurfing. Commissioners should make the wakesurf boats be at least 500 feet from the shore.

Imagine this, based on science, physics, logic, common sense, and the truth: If someone is wakesurfing on Lake CDA, they can wakesurf, all day long, staying 500 feet or more from shore. The waves will cause NO DAMAGE whatsoever to the shoreline, the docks, seawalls. No impact, no gripes, no complaints. That’s the way it should be, isn’t it?

When wakesurfing on the Spokane River, the wake surf waves, from every wakesurf boat is, continually adding to the damages, of some type, 100 percent of the time. The homeowners will continue to gripe, complain to the Commissioners, louder and more forceful, because the damages problem will never go away. It’s only going to get worse, when there will be more wakesurf boats, more and bigger wake/waves, causing more violent collisions, smacking off of the seawalls and docks.

Consider this quote from a wakesurfer in CDA, for it is the truth: “The new boats are insane, with automatic wake shapers and built-in ballast systems making five-foot plus surf.”

A picture is worth 1,000 words. Please see for yourself: Coeur d’Alene Magazine, summer/fall 2019 edition, Waves of Summer, wake surfers chase the dream, pages 38-44. Pictures of the surf waves. This is exactly what we have to deal with ... every day in the summer.

We are lucky to have three very bright, hardworking Commissioners trying to do the right thing. We need them to set public hearings, real soon. Let any and all citizens testify and present evidence. Then make a decision. Is the proper arena for wakesurfing the Spokane River, or is the proper arena for wakesurfing Lake Coeur d’Alene?

Please take the time and contact the Commissioners with your thoughts and comments. Their email addresses are: bbrooks@kcgov.us, lduncan@kcgov.us, cfillios@kcgov.us

P.S.: If anyone knows how to make the wakesurf waves smaller or make the Spokane River wider, let the Commissioners know.