Lake Hartwell: Keep the Wake Off the Bank
The Issue
On the Georgia side of Lake Hartwell, the law protects the shoreline in front of homes, parks and marinas. On the South Carolina side, it protects docks, piers and swimmers — and never names the shoreline. Same lake. Two different answers.
Wake-enhanced boats use ballast, wedges and shapers to build a surfable wave. That wave carries energy hundreds of feet from the boat.
It matters more now. The Corps has set Hartwell’s new lake level 4ft lower at 656 feet, year-round, for what could be five to ten years. Ground that sat underwater at the old summer pool is now the bank — and that is where the wave is landing.
Georgia’s wake-surfing law names the shoreline next to homes, parks, beaches and marinas. South Carolina’s names docks, piers and swimmers, and stops there. So on the South Carolina side, a residential bank with no dock on it has no wake-surf protection at all. Cross the state line and the identical conduct is a violation. Nobody designed that.
We are asking both states for one standard:
- No wake enhancement within 500 feet of any shoreline, dock, pier, moored boat or person in the water
- None in water shallower than 20 feet
- Wake enhancement on the main body only, where the water can hold it
- This is not a ban. Wake-surfing stays legal. Nobody’s boat becomes illegal. If the ballast, wedges and shapers are not in use, the rule does not apply.
In August 2026 the Corps set Hartwell’s normal target at 656 feet, year-round, because of seepage at the Clemson dike. Nobody is arguing with that repair. The Corps’ own shoreline permit says stone may not be placed below 655 feet. So the band of bank now taking the waves is the band owners are not allowed to protect.
We pulled 7,726 daily readings from the federal gauge back to 2005. Under the old target, the lake sat below that 655-foot line on about a quarter of summer days. Applied to a target four feet lower — an estimate, not a forecast — the typical summer day falls below it.
Vermont, Maine and Michigan already moved. We are not asking Hartwell to go first. We are asking one lake for one rule.
Sign if you want the wake kept off the bank.
The studies, both statutes and the lake-level record: https://keepthewakeoffthebank.netlify.app/
120
The Issue
On the Georgia side of Lake Hartwell, the law protects the shoreline in front of homes, parks and marinas. On the South Carolina side, it protects docks, piers and swimmers — and never names the shoreline. Same lake. Two different answers.
Wake-enhanced boats use ballast, wedges and shapers to build a surfable wave. That wave carries energy hundreds of feet from the boat.
It matters more now. The Corps has set Hartwell’s new lake level 4ft lower at 656 feet, year-round, for what could be five to ten years. Ground that sat underwater at the old summer pool is now the bank — and that is where the wave is landing.
Georgia’s wake-surfing law names the shoreline next to homes, parks, beaches and marinas. South Carolina’s names docks, piers and swimmers, and stops there. So on the South Carolina side, a residential bank with no dock on it has no wake-surf protection at all. Cross the state line and the identical conduct is a violation. Nobody designed that.
We are asking both states for one standard:
- No wake enhancement within 500 feet of any shoreline, dock, pier, moored boat or person in the water
- None in water shallower than 20 feet
- Wake enhancement on the main body only, where the water can hold it
- This is not a ban. Wake-surfing stays legal. Nobody’s boat becomes illegal. If the ballast, wedges and shapers are not in use, the rule does not apply.
In August 2026 the Corps set Hartwell’s normal target at 656 feet, year-round, because of seepage at the Clemson dike. Nobody is arguing with that repair. The Corps’ own shoreline permit says stone may not be placed below 655 feet. So the band of bank now taking the waves is the band owners are not allowed to protect.
We pulled 7,726 daily readings from the federal gauge back to 2005. Under the old target, the lake sat below that 655-foot line on about a quarter of summer days. Applied to a target four feet lower — an estimate, not a forecast — the typical summer day falls below it.
Vermont, Maine and Michigan already moved. We are not asking Hartwell to go first. We are asking one lake for one rule.
Sign if you want the wake kept off the bank.
The studies, both statutes and the lake-level record: https://keepthewakeoffthebank.netlify.app/
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on September 22, 2026