KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced a new “No Wake” zone on Fort Loudoun Lake after multiple serious injuries and fatal boating incidents that prompted action by the Tennessee Wildlife Commission.

The commission voted to implement the new zone during its December 2022 meeting. The new “No Wake” zone is located on the Little River arm of the Fort Loudoun Reservoir near the Alcoa Highway (Hwy 129) bridge and the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge.

Buoys will be placed on either side of the bridges to remind people to ease their vessel speeds within the new “No Wake” zone.

TWRA defines a “No Wake” zone as an area where “a vessel traveling at or below idle speed, or at such speed that the boat or its wake (waves) is not sufficient to cause possible injury or damage to other persons, boats, or property.”

Also, boaters in the “No Wake” zone may not tow a person on water skis, surfboard, inner tube, or similar devices.  The zone will be delineated by informational buoys placed on the upstream and downstream sides of the bridges.

The Fort Loudoun Reservoir contains some 14,600 acres and was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1943, according to TWRA’s information page about the lake; which supports “a variety of recreational activities and provides hydroelectric power and flood control.”

The waterway is located at the headwaters of the Tennessee River near Knoxville and runs 55 miles upstream from the dam to the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers. There are 360 miles of shoreline, surrounded by private and commercial development used for fishing and other aquatic recreation.