Ski Lakes: Impact of Water Skiing

[brianb0518]

A member at MC team talk suggested i post my inquiry here.

 

I am wonder if there is someone out there who can help me with some information regarding current decibels of inboard ski boats at varying distances. Presently I am putting together a presentation/ lease proposal for a local property owner to utilize a 15 acre lake on his property with the goal of forming a three event ski club.

 

The owner has asked us to address the four common impacts of water skiing (Sound Pollution/ Attenuation, Shoreline Erosion & Mitigation, Environmental Impacts/ Water Turbidity, and Wildlife Impacts).

 

I am currently working on the sound portion of the proposal and was hoping to input the decibels of new 2010 and 2011 ski boat with mufflers into a chart comparing a whisper, normal conversation, city traffic, lawn mower, etc.

 

If any one has this information it would be much appreciated. I know water ski magazine formerly published this as a part of their boat reviews, but now with their feel good reviews there is limited technical information..

 

Any help is much appreciated.

[Bud Man]

Contact AWSA. I’m sure they already have a lot of data to share for helping people do exactly what you are doing.

 

I was lucky enough to start leasing a pond back in 1993 and still hold the lease. I haven’t skied there in about five years because I built a lake where I live, but I let others ski there.

 

Good luck with your project. I hope everything works out for everyone.

 

[MCskiFreak]

A quicker route would be to look up the CE certification for noise levels. All of the major brands export to European countries which require a CE certification for all models being imported into the country. There is a drive by sound level test that the boats must pass.

[boarditup]

Been there, done that. The numbers don't really matter. What worked for me was to have people come to a nearby lake and host a picnic. I had a boat traveling back and forth through the slalom course while the picnic was going on. When it was appropriate, I called the meeting to order and asked the crowd if anyone was bothered by the boat passing nearby. Since they all had been talking and visiting with each other for the first 20-minutes, they had nothing to say. I had 3-zoning commission meetings and went over the numbers many times, but the picnic is what worked.

 

For the record, at 150-feet, the passing boat is less than 70db - less than a quiet conversation, but more than a whisper. 150-feet being on the shoreline in the average ski lake width. Going further up the shore, the sound dies out very quickly, depending upon landscaping.

[ral]

I have the one we did for our lake (in Spanish) if you need it.