Laurentians municipality mulls banning wakesurfing

It's a sport that's growing in popularity, but a municipality in the Laurentians is considering banning wakesurfing.

Public consultations have been launched on a draft bylaw in Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard that would prohibit wake boats from Lac Saint-Joseph and neighbouring Lac Sainte-Marie.

Wakesurfing differs from waterskiing and wakeboarding because the rider uses the boat's wake to propel themselves instead of being towed by a motorboat. Wake boats have increased ballast that creates larger waves, which is where much of the concern comes from.

"Imagine what happens when you have a five-metre-deep column of water that breaks everything under it," said Andre Belanger from Fondation Rivieres, a group working to preserve, restore and enhance Quebec's rivers. "If you have any fish trying reproduce at this place, it's over. It destroys the fauna, it destroys the flora, and it brings erosion."

World champion waterskiier Pierre Plouffe runs a nautical centre in Mont Tremblant and said about half of his clients are now interested in wake surfing.

The sport can be practised without damaging the environment, he said, as long as the lake is deep and wide enough.

"If you go to the centre like we do here (on Lac Tremblant) you can't damage anything because by the time the waves gets to the shore they're dead," he explained.

Competing studies

There have been studies into wakesurfing's environmental impact, but there is debate, too.

Sainte-Adolphe-d'Howard points to research from the Universite de Montreal that concludes wakesurfing shouldn't be practised within 300 metres of shore.

Advocates of the sport say that's not a peer-reviewed study. Instead, they take their recommendations from a study in the Journal of Water Resource and Protection, which finds minimal impact outside of 60 metres from shore.            

Who owns the water?

If the ban were to go forward, it would have to be approved by Transport Canada.

For Josee Cote from boating organization Nautisme Quebec, it raises the question of who should be the warden of water.

"It is new with Transport Canada that you can only ban the wakesurfing activity. So they're now separating the water activities," she said. "But we find banning is not a solution. Nobody owns the lakes in Quebec. It is for everyone."

Fondation Rivieres believes the attitude that anyone can do what they want with the water has persisted for too long.

"We've been accustomed to believe that it has no impact, and it's our pleasure to use them. All of us believed what was a privilege was instead a right. So they're fighting as if we were infringing on their rights," said Belanger.

Restricting the sport

Some municipalities, including Sainte-Adolphe-d'Howard, have already placed restrictions on wakesurfing.

There are specified zones on Lac Sainte-Joseph and Lac Sainte-Marie where it is permitted.

Bernard Cote from the lakes' water sports association said part of the issue is ensuring boaters know about it.

"Is it respected? That's a big point. We need to educate boaters on a regular basis," he said.

Cote adds that many residents are against wakesurfing not for environmental reasons, but because the boats can be loud.

"In Sainte-Adolphe-d'Howard we have approximately 80 lakes. Two are motorized, 78 are non-motorized. So if you want peace and quiet, you have a choice," he said.

Belanger also noted wakesurfing increases the oxygenation of a lake which causes it to age and become marshy. His organization supports a full ban on certain bodies of water.

"Their lakes are ageing, and this type of activity, when it's not done at the right place, is just accelerating this ageing," he said. "So do you want to keep your lake or do you want to keep your activity? That's the question."