After a 45-minute public hearing last week, the Wright County Board of Commissioners amended its ordinance to require mandatory watercraft testing for aquatic invasive species (AIS) on East and West Lake Sylvia, Lake John and Pleasant Lake.

Under the new ordinance language, all watercraft entering either of the lakes must undergo an off-site inspection in Annandale.

 

The pilot program is designed to improve the county’s goal to prevent new introduction of AIS. Currently, only 40 of 57 public lake accesses in the county are provided with inspectors due to limited funds. The majority of lake accesses in the county have an inspector for an average of 12 hours per week, which is not adequate to inspect every watercraft entering the lakes.

 

Under the pilot program, all watercraft for the three lakes will be inspected at a Regional Inspection Station in the Annandale Business Park on Hwy. 55. The location is being leased from the city at no cost.

 

To ensure all users can move through the station efficiently, the station will be staffed seven days a week, one half hour before sunrise and one half hour after sunset.

 

The station will be designed so multiple watercraft can be inspected and decontaminated at once. Watercraft not requiring decontamination will proceed to the exit, while those requiring decontamination will proceed to a hot water decontamination unit.

 

After passing inspection or decontamination, boaters will be given a proof-of-inspection seal attached to their watercraft and a receipt for the tow vehicle. Both items of documentation are valid for one use. Serial numbers will be recorded by inspector.

 

When a user reaches a lake access, their insection seal should only be broken at the time of launch. The public accesses will have drop boxes for users to deposit the broken seal. Users should also sign and date their inspection receipt and place it on the dash of the tow vehicle.

 

Alicia O’Hare, county water planner with Wright Soil and Conservation District (SWCD), said once the ordinance passes, they would submit the plan to the DNR for approval.        

 

“Once we have approval from the City of Annandale for the site and the DNR commissioner, the regional inspection site can be up and running,” she said.

 

She anticipated the approval would be forthcoming in mid-July.

 

Members of the board were in favor of the plan, as were a number of people from other lakes who spoke at the hearing.

 

O’Hare said the goal is to eventually expand the program to cover other lakes in the county.