Slow/no wake ordinance in effect on Rock River

Gazette staff

   JANESVILLE

   The Rock County Sheriff’s Office issued a slow/no wake order Tuesday for the Rock River throughout Rock County.

   A county ordinance adopted in January set a countywide standard for slow/no wake operations on the river. Before the ordinance, towns enforced the previous slow/no wake conditions.

   The new county ordinance calls for slow/no wake conditions when the water level exceeds 7.5 feet on Lake Koshkonong and 6.5 feet in Afton.

   “Deputies will place slow/no wake signs along the river at all public access points between the northern Rock County line and the southern Rock County line,” Spoden said.

   Rock-Koshkonong Lake District officials opposed the ordinance. They argued that the standard is too restrictive. The district preferred a slowno wake standard tied to the flood stage, which is 9 feet near Newville. The lower levels in the ordinance could curtail boating in late spring and early summer, they said.

   Exempted in the form of an amendment to the ordinance are special events on the river, including the Rock Aqua Jays water ski shows in Janesville’s Traxler Park.