PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Charter fishermen docked at the Port Washington marina say orange, rust-like spots have been building up on their boats for years, causing costly damage and leaving boaters demanding answers about the source.
The spots are visible on docks, fences, and boats throughout the harbor. For 25-year veteran charter captain Chad Biersach, owner of C&D Charters, keeping up with the buildup has become a daily chore.
"The decks are covered with them," Biersach said. "That's gotta be done every day to keep clean. Because you don't want a dirty boat when the customers come on board... I want it known, and I want answers to what this is and why we have to deal with it."
Many boaters have resorted to rust remover and time-consuming manual scrubbing to manage the spots, but the damage continues to accumulate.
Ruben Ojeda with Fish-On Guide Services of Wisconsin says the rust has already cost him thousands of dollars.
Watch: Port Washington fishermen turn to TMJ4 looking for source of orange rust-like spots on boats
"With the new floor that was just installed, it's thousands of dollars, and now I have stains in it," Ojeda said. "Hopefully, we can get some answers."
Ojeda recently recorded video of what he describes as orange-tinted smoke rising from the nearby Port Washington Generating Station. Some boaters believe the plant may be connected to the rust problem.
We Energies disputes that connection. A spokesperson says the company has already tested the rust-like spots and found no link to their generating plant. We Energies says they are still looking into the issue but that the orange tint in the steam visible in Ojeda's video is the result of reflection, not emissions.
They say the plant is in full compliance with rigorous and continuous DNR and EPA emissions testing.
The steam you are seeing in the video was vented during standard start-up procedures. The steam coming from the vent is not coming from a combustion process. It appears the orange tint along the bottom of the water vapor is a reflection; however, we are continuing to look into this.
I want to highlight that the plant has continuous monitoring on its emissions stacks and conducts comprehensive emissions testing on a regular basis in coordination with the state DNR and EPA to ensure we are meeting rigorous air quality standards. The Port Washington facility is in full compliance with its air permit. We rely on state-of-the-art air quality systems to control emissions at all of our power plants.
Regarding the boat stains — we have tested boats and the air around the power plant and there is no evidence the rust stains on a handful of boats are connected to the plant.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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