Lake Anna’s hazard and No Wake bridge buoy system is often taken for granted, as in they are expected to be in place, maintained and monitored so residents and visitors know where not to boat and where to use caution. But the truth of the matter is that it takes time, money and volunteer efforting to make sure these silent sentinels are doing their duty.
The Lake Anna Advisory Committee is the group tasked with managing the lake’s buoy system – 59 total with 29 Bridge Buoys and 31 Hazard Buoys, eight of which are pole buoys. Each buoy costs over $250 and each is also equipped with a $120 flashing light. The annual budget to maintain them is over $6,000 using volunteer staff.
Barbara Aikens voluntarily inherited the job of managing Lake Anna’s buoy system in 2024, and it wasn’t in good shape when she started.
The Spotsylvania County representative of the Lake Anna Advisory Committee and chair of the Navigation & Safety Subcommittee discovered the lake’s hazard and bridge No Wake buoys weren’t mapped, weren’t being kept up and weren’t being financially accounted for using accurate methods.
Undaunted, not only did she work with Spotsylvania County staff to create a digital, online map for Lake Anna’s many permitted buoys, she also personally rehabbed many aging buoys, crafted concrete anchors for them and amassed an accurate accounting for these materials so that the job (previously staffed by volunteers) would be ready to be contracted out to professionals. Aiken proved to be a tireless servant for the lake and its residents/visitors. Along the way she encountered some outstanding generosity and assistance from three local businesses.
Recently, when an important Hazard Buoy near The Cove in the Pamunkey Branch was reported missing just before Memorial Day Weekend, Aikens was on a tight deadline.
“We needed to get that buoy in before the holiday weekend and we didn’t have any anchors made nor did we have the manpower to drop it, but thanks to some local networking and helpful business owners, the buoy was set,” Aikens told Lake Anna Life & Times.
Specifically involved in that task was Carlos Wood, owner of High Point Marina and Jack Novak of TowBoat Lake Anna. Aikens and LAAC Chair Christopher C. McCotter worked with both businesses to obtain the necessary materials (a spare buoy anchor from High Point Marina) and the manpower to drop the buoy from TowBoat Lake Anna.
The third local business that stepped up to assist Aikens and LAAC is the Cardinal Home Center at Lake Anna. Emmet Aylor and his staff were contacted by LAAC Chair Christopher C. McCotter about helping with anchor concrete. Aylor didn’t hesitate and Cardinal donated 18 bags of Sakrete and delivered them to Aikens’ home where she and a band of neighbors immediately set to work creating nine buoy anchors that will be used to drop more replacement buoys that have gone missing over the past few months. The generosity of the Spotsylvania County Dive Team/Fire & EMS Department, under the direction of Chief Micheal Grubb will oversee that upcoming project.
“I couldn’t be prouder of how this team effort came together to get these important tasks done. The situation also taught us a lesson that for many years the management of the lake’s buoy system has needed to be contracted out so that senior citizen volunteers aren’t the ones facing heavy lifting and possibly dangerous work. At our May meeting, LAAC decided to ask for bids. We’ll still purchase the materials, but the contractor will construct and place all LAAC buoys,” noted McCotter.
LAAC will receive $8,000 from Louisa and Spotsylvania Counties and $2,000 from Orange for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to maintain the buoys system and treat hydrilla. McCotter says if LAAC is expected to continue to complete these tasks, more funding is necessary.
“We could spend $18K alone on hydrilla management this year depending on growth, so that possibility along with the now understood real costs of maintaining the lake’s buoys, makes it imperative to obtain additional support,” McCotter noted.
