Has summer arrived at last? We hope so! As you enjoy this first summer-like weekend on Hayden Lake, here are a few worthy things to keep in mind:
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300 ft.
That’s how far you need to be from the shore, dock, pier, breakwater, structure, or any person in the water when your boat or personal watercraft (PWC) is making big waves. A new Kootenai County Ordinance went into effect this spring, establishing a No-Excessive-Wake Zone from 300 ft. to 200 ft. from shore. The 200-ft. No WAKE Zone remains in effect as well. How will you judge 300 ft? Zoom in on this interactive map. The No Wake and No Excessive Wake Zones are combined in the red shaded areas along the shoreline. Locate your favorite place on the lake and scan the area to get an idea of where you can travel in wake-enhancing mode and what areas you need to avoid. The narrower bays like Honeysuckle, Bervins, and Windy Bays on the south, and McLeans, Bob’s Bay, and the bay on the north side of Sportsman’s Access on the north look pretty tight. Remember, you need to maintain 100 ft between passing boats, so be careful when navigating the narrow channels. These restricted zones cover only a small portion of the lake. Enjoy the wide-open waters of the main body safely.
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Curly Leaf Pondweed.
It’s the noxious weed we’ve all come to know so well. Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) did treat the North Arm in May. If the treatment is effective, the weed should die off without topping out on the water. Never-the-less, please avoid spreading noxious and invasive plants around Hayden Lake, or spreading them to other waterways, by following the Clean Drain Dry
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Watering restrictions lifted.
Speaking of herbicides in Hayden Lake, ISDA completed residual testing last week and found all herbicide levels to be below 1 ppb, well below minimum standards for concern. They have lifted all water use restrictions. You may water your ornamental plants with lake water now. Thank you, Mother Nature, for taking care of them for us while we waited.
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The lake is high.
While so much of the world was staying home and staying safe this spring, the lake level was oh-so-slowly rising. On June 15, it was 1.5 inches above the bottom of the spillway and had been hanging out between there and 3 inches for at least two weeks previously. That is an increase of 54 inches since last December 3 (see The Annual Shrinking of the Lake).
Quiz: if the average surface area of Hayden Lake is 3901 acres, by how many acre-feet of water has the volume of the lake increased since the beginning of December? How many gallons is that? Share your answer in the comments.
Wow so basically any place we used to enjoy waterskiing and wakeboarding are now off limits. Nobody enjoys water activities in the middle of the main lake. What constitutes a large wake? Who is going to enforce this new ordinance ? I bring that up because nobody enforced the 200’ ordinance, the sheriff is rarely on the lake. (Edited by Admin.)
The 200-300 ft zone is not off-limits to boats that are planing. It is, therefore, available to traditional waterskiing that does not involve wake enhancement. Per the KC Ordinance, excessive wakes are large wakes resulting from plowing, operating in an artificially bow-high or wake-enhancing manner, or creating a wake that causes water to lap onto or over a dock, pier, or lawfully permitted encroachment, within the restricted zone. Regarding enforcement, there are several decision-makers and influencers connected to Hayden Lake, who contend that most people want to do the right thing. Once boaters understand what the law requires, they will make every effort to follow it. I sure hope that you are one of these. For boaters who forget or who misjudge distances, Kootenai County Marine Deputies will be on the lake more this summer than in seasons past. They will be happy to stop boaters and educate them accordingly. To those who willfully fail to comply, the Sheriff will be issuing citations.