Lake protection and conservation for municipalities – The ecological benefits of Cable Parks

Lakes – or any body of water for that matter – often require constant care to keep water quality high and to protect local plants and animal species. This of course comes at a cost without immediate financial return. Today we want to highlight how a Wakepark can help to protect wildlife and improve water quality and shore conditions while also generating revenue for your municipality.

Protection and conservation of local fauna and flora is an increasingly important cornerstone in cultivating natural areas of a municipality for locals and tourists alike. This task naturally comes with effort and additional spending. Water properties, such as lakes and ponds, usually require quite a lot of maintenance in order to prevent algae bloom, protect shores and avoid waste and trash dumping as well as vandalism.

Wakeparks can be an ideal solution to this problem. Not only are these wakeboarding facilities beneficial to the environment, as we’ve observed countless times, they also turn a financial burden into more tax revenue for the municipality. Let us quickly dive into why that is and how you can implement a Wakepark yourself.

Conservation benefits of a wakepark

Wakeparks, also called Cable Parks, consist of a circular array of towers (pylons) that hold a cable on which the riders are pulled along a predetermined path. The cable system is powered by low-noise electrical motors, the necessary lubrication comes in a closed system to prevent leakage into the lake and to keep maintenance costs low.

The activity on the water creates turbulence in the upper water regions and helps saturate the lake or pond with oxygen. Another side-effect is that algae bloom gets significantly reduced in stagnant waters with no natural flow. Contrary to popular belief, local wildlife does not appear to be impacted negatively – quite the opposite, actually. The anchors of the pylons are a preferred spot for fish species and adjacent resting and nesting places for birds are in frequent use. Birds also love to sit on the cable while the system is offline after the park has closed for the day.

But wait, there’s more! Since a Wakepark is operated by a business, the owner naturally has an interest in keeping the lake and its shores and beaches clean of litter. Social control measures, such as fences and CCTV surveillance also prevent vandalism and illegal parties and reduce the need for lifeguards paid by the municipality.

Financial benefits of a Cable Park for municipalities

On top of cutting conservation costs as described above, Cable Parks also create tax revenue for the municipality. The benefits here are two-fold: direct increase and indirect increase. The direct increase is obvious. Businesses pay taxes and create jobs in the region, but the often overlooked indirect benefits can easily surpass the direct increase in tax revenue. Wakeboard enthusiasts often travel quite a distance to a Cable Park, because there simply aren’t that many wakeboard facilities around. This in turn means that guests are looking for accommodation and gastronomy and might visit additional local attractions and do some sightseeing as well.

Of course all this just scratches the surface of the benefits and possibilities that a Cable Park can bring to your region. If you’re interested in learning more about Wakepark facilities and how to implement them, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!

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