LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. – A Liberty Lake resident says wake surfing boats are damaging her waterfront property and causing shoreline erosion.
Liberty Lake is a popular spot for many this time of year.
On Friday afternoons, people roll in and get ready for a nice, relaxing weekend on the lake.
But for Vicki Pearce, who has lived along the shores of Liberty Lake for 35 years, lately it has not been so relaxing.
“They come out at 8 in the morning. They go back in at 10 at night. They play really loud, offensive music. But the main concern is that they ride the shoreline so the waves are huge,” Pearce said.
Wake boats driving too close to the shoreline are disrupting Pearce’s peace and damaging property.
“You can’t even walk on our dock without hanging on to something because you will fall over,” Pearce said.
In Spokane County, any boats producing an excess wake should not come within 100 feet of the shoreline. Pearce says some of the boaters are not following this rule. It’s gotten so bad that her shoreline is eroding.
“We’ve lost a tree down here that fell on our property because of the erosion on the shoreline,” Pearce said. “It breaks our anchor line to our dock. And in order for us to fix it, it’s deep enough out there that he actually has to put on diving gear and dive down and get it.”
Pearce says the lake may be too small for the number of people who are heading out on the water each day.
“If there’s one wakeboard boat out, it’s not so bad. But if there’s more than one there, it’s just constant. So you can’t really paddleboard. You definitely can’t water ski,” Pearce said.
Pearce says not enough people pay attention to the posted signs telling people the rules on how to safely and respectfully wake surf.
“Maybe their rules are different. Maybe they don’t know any rules of boats,” Pearce said. “We want them to be able to surf. Just do it respectfully.”
Pearce says she has written to shoreline management about this problem, and her husband has a meeting with the agency next week to hopefully come to a solution.
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