Operation dry water is a year-round initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of boating while intoxicated.
If you plan to head to a lake in Indiana over the holiday weekend, you'll notice more DNR conservation officers than normal cracking down on boating while intoxicated.
Petroviak.thanks for joining us.
If you're heading to an indiana lake this weekend, you'll see more d-n-r conservation officers than usual as they increase their patrols for intoxicated boaters.fox 55's caleb saylor brings us a behind the scenes look at how people are kept safe on the lakes during operation dry watertrt: 2:28 every year, hundreds of people flock to indiana lakes during the fourth of july to spend time on the water and celebrate.
It's a fun time, but with so many people on the lake, shaun mack's family takes extra precautions during the weekend "there's so many little kids with us.
If we had some older kids, we'd probably get out a little bit more to the middle of the lake.
We like to spend out time around the outside edges and really be careful what time of day it is because there is so many people."
Indiana dnr officers will be out there too, watching more than normal this weekend for boaters who may have too much spirit.
Officers will be enforcing operation dry water.
"operation dry water is a nationwide, year long campaign that focus on enforcement of intoxicated boaters while they're out on the water."
Sergeant patrick heidenreich says in 2019, in dnr arrested 79 people for boating while intoxicated and while it's treated just like an owi, boating while intoxicated brings more problems with it "when you're out on the water, there's a lot of environmental stressors.
There's wave action, there's sunlight, and just fatigue.
Being tired from being out on the water all day.
If you throw alcohol into that, which slows your reflexes, it just makes it for a very dangerous situation."
They're also looking for expired registrations ???sequence where he warns jet skier???
Too many riders on a water craft and underage drivers.
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"your eyes and your head, you've constantly got to be scanning because that stuff is all around you."
They'll spend hours on the lake, making sure everyone is safely having fun.
Heidenreich suggests every person where their life jacket while out on the boat, in case something happens.
And he says if you plan on drinking.
"if you're going to be out on a boat, have a designated operator for that boat.
Just like you would have a designated driver, have a designated operator.
So everyone, including yourself, can be safe and enjoy this busy weekend."
On crooked lake, caleb saylor, fox 55 news 3 one again, you'll see more conservation officers on the lakes than normal starting tomorrow and running through the