Muskego Police Dept. Water Safety Information

Dear Muskego Community,

As we gear up for another beautiful summer on and in Muskego’s waters, we wanted to reach out to our community to promote a fun and safe water season. Whether you enjoy watersports, swimming, fishing, or a relaxing float, safety on our waters involves everyone.

Some important safety and water use reminders include:

• Swimming more than 150 feet from shore requires being accompanied by a boat.

• A personal flotation device (PFD) is required for every person on a boat, including on kayaks, paddleboards, paddle boats, and electric surfboards (also called eFoils or jetboards).

• To operate a personal watercraft (PWC) or electric surfboard, a person must be at least 12 years old and have completed a boating safety course or be born before January 1, 1989.

• PWCs cannot operate above slow-no-wake within 100 feet of any vessel or within 200 feet of any shoreline.

• Boats cannot operate above slow-no-wake within 150 feet of any dock, pier, or buoyed restricted area.

• Slow-no-wake begins at sunset and continues until 8:00am, and PWCs cannot operate during this time.

• From sunset to sunrise, power-driven boats underway must have bow lights and a stern light illuminated.

  • When not underway during this timeframe, all vessels must display a white light visible in all directions, except when they are within 200 feet of shore.

• No person may ride or sit on the gunwales, tops of seat backs or decking over the bow while underway.

• Electric surfboards are considered a PWC and must display registration numbers and a valid decal.

For a full list of water-related regulations, please visit the Muskego Ordinances under Chapter 278 (https://ecode360.com/32902448#32902448), the DNR Boating Laws handbook at (https://widnr.widen.net/s/0vw8hwrae3), and Wisconsin Chapter 30 Navigable Waters (https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/30). The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Boat) provides great information on boat safety classes.

Water safety is a shared responsibility. If you witness unsafe water activities, contact the Muskego Police Department at (262) 679-4130. Through teamwork, we will succeed in having a safe and relaxing summer on the water.

Thank you all for your continued efforts to keep our lakes a fantastic place to be,

Your Muskego Police Department boat patrol team