Spring/Summer 2019 Lakeshore News In This Issue • Big Wakes Pg 1 • Adjudication Update Pg 2 • Lake Cda Hydrology Pg 4 • Boat Garage Pg 5 • Frederick Post Pg 6 Be there to help us celebrate 55 years of BIG WAKES CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS service dedicated to We live here because we love the lakes and rivers north Idaho has in abundance. We enjoy these treasures in different ways. Some enjoy quiet protecting our beautiful time like fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding or a fun boat ride. Others Lake CDA and the rights want more action and take to the water on personal water craft or fire up of property owners who the ski boat to ride waves of different degrees. To each his own, as they love it so much. say. That said, we all need to be aware and respectful of others on the water PLEASE JOIN US and along the its shores. Property owners are used to a certain amount of shore erosion from weather and responsible recreational use of the water- ways. In the last several years the popularity of ski boats with the ability Annual Meeting to create a larger and more challenging waves for riders to enjoy have also created problems for other boaters and property owners. Coeur d’Alene Resort th This problem is occurring on waterways all over our area. The following Wed., July 17 , 2019 is a letter written by Spokane River property owners trying to bring the 6:30 Check-in Social problems to the forefront and search for solutions. Coeur d’Alene Lake- shore property owners are looking for a solution also and look forward 7:00 Meeting to working with folks along the Spokane River and the powers that be to Continued on page 2 Website: cdalakepoa.com Email: [email protected] 2 Excessive Wakes - Continued from Page 1 or safety issues like the wake boats that are surfing. develop a plan and deal with the problem. One thing is for sure — the RiverFriends2019 do not RiverFriends2019 is a group that has been formed to want the river to be a total no wake zone. What we want alleviate the safety and erosion issues on the Spokane is for the wake boats to wait until they get to the lake River in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls. The group was to turn on the ballast and do wake boarding and wake formed to arrive at consensus regarding the causes and surfing. When they get to the lake, they need to con- to find a solution to decrease these two major issues. tinue to follow the rules. Some states are working on banning wake boats entirely on all of their waterways. A letter was sent out to river dwellers requesting input Will Idaho do that? We will see? to find out what they thought. The answer was over- What can you do? Email or write a letter to the county whelming: Make the wake boats stop wake surfing on commissioners asking them to help us solve this prob- the river. lem. Join RiverFriends2019 by emailing us at River- The river is very narrow and shallow, making the [email protected]. wakes incredibly dangerous for a child standing on a dock, a kayaker, a paddle boarder or even a boat trying The safety and erosion issues have to be addressed and to pass. One RiverFriend told us, “My 18-month-old solved ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. WE DON’T WANT granddaughter was swept up off the dock caused by a TO WAIT UNTIL A TRAGEDY occurs; we want to wake boat surfing.” A wake boat can wash a 60-plus solve the problem in 2019. pound item off the dock (a typical 9-year-old weighs 62 • • • pounds). The wakes are so strong, it causes tremendous erosion on the banks of the river, causing some to lose 4 to 6 feet of their bank. With the river being so narrow UPDATE ON THE COEUR D’ ALENE and shallow, even if the wake boats surf in the middle of the river, the force of the wake causes safety and SPOKANE RIVER BASIN ADJUDICATION erosion issues beyond belief. From our water rights Attorney Currently there is a no-wake zone of 100 feet on the The trial for the Forest Service claims is set for Au- river, which is not sufficient. The majority of the mem- gust, 2020, with motion deadlines during 2019. Any bers of RiverFriends2019 want something done, and appeals to the Idaho Supreme Court would likely be done quickly. They think that wake boats should wait heard during 2020 or 2021. Of course, it is possible until they get to the lake to fill their ballast, so people that we could reach a settlement on the Forest Service can surf behind the boats. claims prior to that date. If you read the ads for new wake boats, they promise The Tribal claims process will be dictated largely by to make wakes “as big as the ocean.” We do not want the Idaho Supreme Court ruling (yet to be issued), in- or need that. There has been a steady increase of wake cluding scheduling of any remand proceedings, and a boats each year. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Ma- trial date and motion deadlines on the quantification of rine Division’s charter is to make sure all boats are any Tribal claims that survive the entitlement phase. 100 feet away from the shore, but that does not solve The CSRBA Court’s decisions will be subject to ad- the problem. ditional appeals. Even on the lake, the 200-foot wake zone is not suf- My best guess is the CSRBA could carry into 2020 or ficient to solve the safety and erosion concerns. Many 2021. Settlement for the Tribal claims looks less likely bays on the lake are having the same problem as we are right now, but that could change depending on the Su- on the river. Like any sport, wake surfing needs to be preme Court’s upcoming decision. managed in a way that benefits the surfer, but doesn’t injure the environment and the people who live here. Norman Semanko Regular ski boats and the like do not cause the erosion Website: cdalakepoa.com Email: [email protected] 3 Wakeboat Etiquette What You Can Do • Stay at least 150 ft. away from shore or structures. • Ride the core, avoid the shore. If you have rule violaters causing issues in front • Minimize repetitive passes. of your property you can report it to the Sheriff’s • Drive a predicted path. • Avoid close pass to other boats. Dept. however, for them to take action they need • Don’t follow another boat too closely. evidence and specific information. • Don’t impede traffic. • Avoid fairways and busy areas. 1. Get photo or video of violation action. • Look before you turn. 2. Record the hull number of the vessel. • Refrain from tricks when near other boats. 3. Note date, time and location. • Early morning times usually have less traffic. • Know and obey all local boating laws and navigation Kootenai County Sheriff - 208-446-1300 Over 35 years of experience in Marina Design & Construction. Cedar Log Docks* Steel Truss Docks* Steel Pier Docks * Aluminum Docks * Marina Development * Boat Lifts Aluminum Gangways * Slip Covers * Marine Repairs * Wave Attenuators * Dock Accessories * Permitting www.hdbmarine.com 208.689.3248 4 THE NATURAL HYDROLOGY OF LAKE COEUR D’ ALENE By Peg Carver Coeur d’Alene Lake is the second largest lake in there is an effect similar to what happens with Coeur northern Idaho, caught in a beautiful mountain set- d’Alene Lake. Flows increase and the water can’t escape ting created when great lobes of the continental ice so the rivers’ elevations increase upstream are higher cap receded during the last Ice Age. The lake is over than they are downstream. As water downstream has 26 miles long with some 135 miles of shoreline, dot- nowhere to go, it gets backed up in the upstream drain- ted with numerous parks, campgrounds, beaches, age of the St. Joe River, the Coeur d’Alene River and the trails, and recreational facilities. The lake is fed pri- St. Maries River, along with the many smaller streams. marily by two rivers, the Coeur d’Alene River and St. Joe River, and its outlet forms the Spokane River. Reservoirs, some of which are called lakes, have a dam right at the outlet and in those instances the res- ervoirs are created solely by the dam. This is not the case with Coeur d’Alene Lake. Coeur d’Alene Lake is a natural lake created by a natural restriction lo- cated nine miles upstream from Post Falls Dam at the outlet of Coeur d’Alene Lake. During the winter and early spring, that restriction on the north end of the lake limits how much water can flow out of the lake. While Avista controls the elevation of the lake dur- ing summer and fall, you may be surprised to learn “YOUR TRUSTED WATERFRONT ADVISOR” during this time of year (spring), they do not. For about six months every year, in the winter and early spring (usually from January through June) Coeur GREG DELAVAN d’Alene Lake is at natural levels. When the lake REALTOR® is on natural restriction, whatever water flows out 208.661.5900 of the lake passes through Post Falls Dam. Dur- [email protected] ing this time, they have all available spill gates open and don’t control the level of Coeur d’Alene Lake. There are three large tributaries (the Coeur d’Alene, St.