Lake Austin Ballast Ban??

[SkiTundra]

Scott, shore erosion from waves (ocean or wakeboat) can be a major expense and PITA. People who bought houses more than maybe 5 or 10 years ago didn't sign up for having to rebuild their riprap every few years because of wakeboats. On inland lakes, like in MN, most people would have to redo their riprap maybe every 30 years. Now some people are having to do it much more often and build much more extensive systems. What use to be $45 per linear foot (in 2013 $'s) every 30 years is now $140/ft every 10 years. They're basically beginning to build on inland lakes what was just for Superior. That's quite an increase in expense - caused by wake boats. And redoing the riprap also often involves redoing stairs, decks, patios, and such near the riprap. Erosion is expensive. On top of this is potentially greater wear & tear on docks, boatlifts, and such.

Besides the additional cost, there is also the PITA of having shoreline torn up and often unusable while the work is being done.

I don't want to see bans and once they start they'll multiply. Anything we can do now to mitigate the screaming will be helpful. Are your power turns necessary? Can you reduce the amount of time you surf? Can you sometimes board with a bit less wake?

[Nautiquehunter]

Are they also going to ban all boats over say 25' ? My 210s wake doesn't hold a candle to a 26' Cobalt doing 12mph.

[swc5150]

This is no surprise. I hate to see any towed water sport banned, but this one is easy to see coming. As a 40 year lake resident, the difference in shoreline erosion is easily noticeable since ballast equipped boats came out. However, erosion doesn't much concern me. It's the tidal waves bashing into our dock, and often over it nowadays, that grinds my gears. The boats have to stay lifted now between cruises, as they would get pummeled simply tied to the dock now. I want people to have fun on water, but some consideration would be cool too. My favorite are the local Supra kids, who think its funny when they wash a couple of sun chairs off our dock with their wake. All it takes are a couple of parasites to ruin it for everyone!

[swankster]

Shore is one thing to maintain and docks are worse. I had a floating dock for 4 years in SC and the biggest problem was storms versus wakes, as wakeborading wasn't that popular in the mid 90s. As a result of trying to maintain the dock, I try to stay away from them when boarding and surfing. As for the shore, I am less concerned but still somewhat respectful if it is a private lake or if the owners property line is the shore. However, we mainly run the Army Corp of Engineers lakes and if they can't take the time to remove stumps (which costs me two prop repairs), then I'm not concerned about their shore.

[Texan1554]

I haven't heard anything out of this "task force". Anyone else?

Our family has owned property on the lake for 52 years. We own some of the oldest structures on the lake... and are having to demolish a concrete slab and rebuild this year due to erosion. The drought and traffic influx from Travis has made it exponentially worse in the last few years.

Everyone on here complaining about hydrilla just needs to pray for rain. With the drought the LCRA hasn't been able to drain the lake in 3-4 years. That's what controls the hydrilla. They've tried treating it every which way, and releasing carp which has dampened it a bit but the only thing to do is drain the lake. Which they used to do every winter, but lately they haven't had enough water in lake Travis to be able to support that. It has been an issue for the last 25 years or so.

[Texan1554]

Shore is one thing to maintain and docks are worse. I had a floating dock for 4 years in SC and the biggest problem was storms versus wakes, as wakeborading wasn't that popular in the mid 90s. As a result of trying to maintain the dock, I try to stay away from them when boarding and surfing. As for the shore, I am less concerned but still somewhat respectful if it is a private lake or if the owners property line is the shore. However, we mainly run the Army Corp of Engineers lakes and if they can't take the time to remove stumps (which costs me two prop repairs), then I'm not concerned about their shore.

The Corp has to leave the stumps as part of the mitigation agreements to create the reservoir in the first place. FYI

[biggator]

Are they also going to ban all boats over say 25' ? My 210s wake doesn't hold a candle to a 26' Cobalt doing 12mph.

This. I live on a big lake (same one as Hunter) and the 25'+ boats throw WAY more wake than even my G with full ballast. At least we try to drive in a straight line - the nasty crap thrown off of a 30' Sea Ray pulling s-turns down the cove with tubes behind it is insane.

[SkiTower]

The Corp has to leave the stumps as part of the mitigation agreements to create the reservoir in the first place. FYI

I would love to hear the explanation... As well as why some lakes don't have houses on them. Not complaining, per say, because I think it makes the lake less crowded, but very curious.

[scottb7]

I think we should ban s turns in big boats while pulling tubers...

[Texan1554]

I would love to hear the explanation... As well as why some lakes don't have houses on them. Not complaining, per say, because I think it makes the lake less crowded, but very curious.

To try and not stray too far off topic I'll try and keep it short. The corps is a simple steward of the reservoir. They are really there just to manage the control structures and everything that goes into the integrity of the storage and release of water.

The lakes are created before being handed to the corps by different governing authorities. When created the lakes flood and destroy ranches, farms, roads, bridges, houses, and barns which the owners of such are compensated (supposed fair market value). The lakes also destroy native wildlife habitat. To "Mitigate" that loss usually other private lands are bought and placed into wetland reserves or wildlife sanctuaries. Another mitigation process is to leave a certain percentage of the original structure in place to create habitat for fisheries and new wetlands.

So, like any other bureaucratic process, everyone protects themselves from blame or having to do anything about any one particular problem.

[skiswm]

I tend to agree with those that support the ban at this point. If you want to get mad get mad at those that overload their boats with weight then don't watch what they're doing and who their wake is hurting. I know where I am the bigger issue with ballast is the people who fill their ballast up, stay on the lake all day, don't bother to dump their ballast when they leave and head to another lake. This is becoming more of a problem with the invasive species that have started to take over more and more lakes. It's not uncommon on some of the smaller lakes have gone beyond just banning the ballast but also have put a length max on many lakes. One lake my '97 SS would just barely fit under their requirements. These requirements were put in place because of large "Rollers" taking out docks, overwhelming swimmers, and tipping canoes.

[Woody_tobius_jr]

Who would want to tow their boat full of ballast?? I don't even like to tow mine with it full of gas

[surroundsound64]

Who would want to tow their boat full of ballast?? I don't even like to tow mine with it full of gas

X2

[GCSuper]

To try and not stray too far off topic I'll try and keep it short. The corps is a simple steward of the reservoir. They are really there just to manage the control structures and everything that goes into the integrity of the storage and release of water.

The lakes are created before being handed to the corps by different governing authorities. When created the lakes flood and destroy ranches, farms, roads, bridges, houses, and barns which the owners of such are compensated (supposed fair market value). The lakes also destroy native wildlife habitat. To "Mitigate" that loss usually other private lands are bought and placed into wetland reserves or wildlife sanctuaries. Another mitigation process is to leave a certain percentage of the original structure in place to create habitat for fisheries and new wetlands.

So, like any other bureaucratic process, everyone protects themselves from blame or having to do anything about any one particular problem.

This is exactly correct. Also, around here in N Texas, most Corps lakes are flood control lakes, so during heavy rain times the lake levels rise considerably so they don't allow buildings below complete full pool levels.

[Nautiquehunter]

I dont know about the west coast but here in the Midwest there are tons of restricted lakes . Low HP or no HP some no boats at all. If you dont want to deal with larger wakes then that may be a good place for you. Its like moving next to an air port or expressway then complaining about the noise. If the wakes are eroding your shore line then take the steps to prevent it . If you dont want to then sell it and let the next guy deal with it. Or keep complaining until they ban everything and nobody will enjoy it.