LAKES
Per the Whitewater Town Board, effective 6-13-19: the Whitewater and Rice Lakes slow / no wake has been lifted.
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See the attached for the Roles of lake organizations
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The Town of Whitewater Lake Ordinances can be viewed by clicking here.
BOATING ORDINANCES: NOTE: The signs posted at the boat launches are accurate.
In addition to adopting all state boating laws, the Town of Whitewater ordinance provides for:
“TRAFFIC LANES” and “SLOW NO WAKE”: A traffic lane is hereby established embracing the surface of Whitewater Lake in its entirety, excepting therefrom that portion of the waters thereof lying between the shoreline and a line parallel to and 150 feet distant from the shoreline. This exception is designated a slow-no-wake area. All channels shall be deemed a slow-no wake area and no boat shall anchor in any channel and no boat shall anchor for a distance of 100 feet in either direction from a line between the tip of the Moraine Heights peninsula and the point opposite.
No pier shall extend further into the lake from the shoreline than 50 feet, no raft shall be anchored or moored where it extends into a traffic lane, no private buoy shall be located in a traffic lane, and no boat shall be moored where it can drift into a traffic lane.
SPEED RESTRICTIONS: All boats shall operate at a slow-no-wake speed after 7:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever is earlier, on Fridays, Saturdays, holidays and the day preceding a holiday, to 9:00 a.m. the following day. All other days, water skiing and boat wakes will be permitted from 9:00 a.m. until sunset. The maximum speed outside the traffic lane shall be slow-no-wake at all times every day of the week.
WATER SKIING: No person shall operate a motor boat towing a person on water skis, aquaplane or similar device unless there is in the boat a competent person in addition to the operator in a position to observe the progress of the person being towed. An observer shall be considered competent if he can in fact observe the person being towed and can relay any signals to the operator.
- Persons operating a boat with skiers or any other water sport must operate in a counterclockwise pattern on both lakes and inlet and outlet in the traffice lane.
- No person shall operate a boat for the purpose of towing a water skier or engage in water skiing except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever is earlier, Friday, Saturday, and holidays. Water skiing and boat wakes are permitted Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to sunset except if one of these days would be a legal holiday.
- No boat towing persons engaged in water skiing, aquaplaning or similar activity on any lake shall engage in such activity within 100 feet of any occupied anchored boat or marked swimming area or public boat landing except where pickup and drop area are established and marked with regulatory markers.
- There shall be no more than 2 tow lines and only 2 persons using said tow lines as a means of water skiing or similar sport: the persons being towed must be equipped with a life jacket, life belt or similar lifesaving device. No tow line shall exceed 75 feet in length.
LIFTING INTO THE AIR FROM THE WATER BY BOAT: No water skier behind any boat will be permitted to be lifted into the air by any means including parasailing, hang gliding or other means, whether the tow remains in place or not, after the skier is aloft.
SWIMMING: Swimming from boats is prohibited unless the boat is anchored and the swimmers stay within 25 feet of the boat. Anchored boats with swimmers must have U.S. Coast approved flotation devices. No person shal swim more than 150 feet from the shore nor shall any person do any distance swimming unless accompanied by a boat containing a ring buoy or an approved life jacket or siilar flotation device and person trained in life saving techniques. Each person swimming must be accompanied by a person trained in life saving techniques and boat with U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation devices. No person shall swim in a traffic lane between sunset and sunrise.
ACCESSES: The general public may use the boat accesses for launching fishing boats, boating and recreational equipment to the lake. No parking on the boat accesses or the road by the accesses. No use of the lake access that is in violation of state, federal or county statues shall be permitted.
SPECIAL USE OF BOAT ACCESSES: Permission from the Town of Whitewater Board is necessary for use of the boat accesses by research groups, weed harvesting and chemical treatment operators, sea wall construction operators and heavy equipment operators. The discussion will be on the second Wednesday of the month at the monthly Town Board meeting. Please call at least 3 business days in advance to get on the agenda.
BOAT OPERATOR AGE RESTRICTIONS:
- No one may operate a motorized boat under the age of 10.
- A person 10 or 11 years old may operate a motorboat only if accompanied by a parent, a guardian, or a person at least 18 years old who is designated by the parent or guardian.
- A person who is 12-15 years old may operate a motorized boat only if 1) they are accompanied by a parent, guardian or a person at least 18 years old who is designated by the parent or guardian or 2) they have completed a boating safety course that is accepted by the Wisconsin DNR.
- A person born on or after 1/1/1989 and over 16 years old may operate a motorboat only if he or she has completed a boating safety course that is accepted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
AIRCRAFT PROHIBITED: It is hereby prohibited for any aircraft to land upon the surface of the lakes. The surface shall include ice as well as water.
MOORING OF BOATS: No person, firm or corporation shall dock or moor any boat on the waters or along the shores of the lakes for the purpose of living, sleeping or camping over night.
PERMITS: No person or corporation shall organize or participate in any event or display upon the surface of the lakes without first obtaining a permit for such activity from the Whitewater Town Board at their regular monthly meeting the second Wednesday of the month. Please call at least 3 business days in advance to get on the agenda. During any event of display it is unlawful to anchor any boat within the designated area for the organized event or to in any way interfere with the event participants.
ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC RULES: Mooring lights are required. No person shall moor or anchor any boat, raft, buoy or other floating object, or permit it to drift into a “traffic lane.” This applies between sunset and sunrise unless there is prominently displayed thereon a white light of sufficient size and brightness to be visible from any direction (360 degrees) for a distance of 1 mile on a dark night with clear atmosphere.
FISHING: State fishing laws and administrative codes are enforced by the Department of Natural Resources. Fishing licenses, both resident and non-resident and copies of the fishing regulations are available at nearby marinas, bait shops and sporting goods stores.
You can review Wisconsin boating regulations, register your boat, or sign up for a safety class at the Wisconsin DNR website at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/boat/