Highway Patrol not issuing ‘no wake’ restriction for Lake of the Ozarks

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has decided against issuing a “no wake” restriction for boaters this weekend, despite high water levels and possible debris in the water.

“We don’t anticipate seeing the boating traffic we would on Memorial Day Weekend but it is going to be really nice and we do anticipate seeing quite a few boats out there,” Sgt. Scott White with MSHP said.

MSHP is still asking boaters to be courteous and mindful of their wakes this weekend.

“It’s not quite peak boating season yet at Lake of the Ozarks but there are a lot of events scheduled on or near the water,” White said. “There are not any special restrictions regarding no wake or idle speed but we’re asking boaters to exercise boat/wake courtesy. For example if you travel into a narrow cove, you just shut down to idle speed.”

Much of the debris in the water would be tree branches or logs, coming downstream from the lake’s tributaries.

“Most of that debris will clear itself out naturally or end up sinking, but until then we’re asking boaters to exercise a lot of caution and a little bit of patience,” White said.

After last week’s rains, the Bagnell Dam was opened to help alleviate some of the rising waters.

“Just the force of that water coming up to a dock, or the side of a house if it’s high water, can cause a lot of damage, that’s a lot of force behind those waves,” White said.

White said the debris can not only cause damage to a boat, but drivers who are going too fast could put themselves and their passengers in danger.

“The problem with boating is they don’t have any seat belts,” White said. “So if you end up striking those logs out there and your boat comes to an abrupt stop or you slow down very quickly, unfortunately it ends up pushing people forward and then they collide with the inside of the boat. And that’s where we see a lot of injuries when it comes to these boat crashes.”