The goal is to help all who operate a boat on the lake enjoy the water in a way that ensures the safety and well-being of other lake-users and the lake itself. Specifically, the buoys will help to train our eyes to recognize the 200-foot no-wake-zone. They will remind everyone that dangerous or damage-causing wakes belong outside of that zone. And, they will aid the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Marine Division in enforcing the county regulations related to producing wakes.

Excerpts from
Kootenai County Code
Title 6 – Public Properties and Waterways
Chapter 2: County Parks and Waterways

6-2-2: Purpose:

It is necessary for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the general public and the protection of public and private property, to regulate the operation of vessels and swimming on the public waters of the state of Idaho situated in Kootenai County …

6-2-4: Vessel Operation:

1.1. Within two hundred feet (200′) of any shoreline or any dock, pier, other structure or any person in the water will be designated as a no-wake zone in which the speed limit shall be five (5) miles per hour.

6-2-6: Restricted Zones:

A.3. “No wake zone” is defined as an area in which the operation of a vessel must be accomplished at not more than five (5) miles per hour and where no water shall produce a wake greater than four inches (4″) in height within the designated boundaries of the area.

For the full text of the Kootenai County Code, click here. Download Chapter 2: County Parks and Waterways Code (pdf).

The new buoys don’t represent any changes to regulations or restrictions.  They will be there to help all of us understand the current, existing law. We feel that most people want to do the right thing. When they know what’s needed, and they have the means to do it, boaters are more likely to avoid making large wakes in that near-shore area. “Our objective is simply to educate people what 200 feet look like,” Steve Meyer, HLWID Board Chairman.

Buoy Installation Details

The Improvement District is posting a Request for Bids for Services (RFB/RFP) this week.  This RFB seeks a contractor to complete the buoy installations in coordination with the Kootenai County Parks & Waterways and the Marine Division of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. The work will commence in the spring or early summer of 2020. By June 1, the beginning of the recreational boating season, we hope to have the new buoys in place.

Attention Potential Contractors

The installation will involve taking delivery of all parts and supplies, building the buoy assemblies, and setting the buoys at chosen locations.  The Improvement District will provide the needed materials to complete the installations.

For more information, download the Buoy Project RFB/RFP. Send bids in writing to Hayden Lake Watershed Improvement District, Attn: Leo Notar, P.O. Box 2836, Hayden ID 83835 by the close of business, 5 PM, on March 13, 2020.

Interested parties should direct all questions concerning the project to Leo Notar.