Operation Dry Water: June 26-28, 2009

The ODNR Division of Watercraft is among a number of state waterways enforcement agencies that will participate June 26-28 in a special nationwide crackdown on drunk boating known as Operation Dry Water.

“Alcohol is involved in nearly one of every three fatal boating accidents in Ohio,” says Pamela Dillon, chief of the Division of Watercraft. “This national enforcement effort will focus greater awareness of the need for boat operators to boat smart, boat sober and make a commitment to staying safe on the water.”

Operation Dry Water is a coordinated effort led by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators to encourage state marine enforcement agencies like Ohio's Division of Watercraft to join with the U.S. Coast Guard and other boating partners to get drunk boaters off the water. Additionally, the specialized enforcement effort seeks to create increased public awareness of the importance of curbing alcohol-related boating accidents and fatalities.

In Ohio, as many as 75 state watercraft officers will participate in enforcement efforts during Operation Dry Water, June 26-28. These efforts will be focused on the inland waterways that attract the largest numbers of recreational boaters in addition to Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Additional waterways will be the focus of intensified efforts to remove alcohol and drug-impaired boaters from state waterways.

The Division of Watercraft says that reducing the number of alcohol-related boating accidents and fatalities is a key to further improving waterway safety. In 2008, 5 of Ohio’s 15 boating-related deaths were attributed to alcohol use. This year, 2 of the 4 boating-related deaths so far have been attributed to alcohol. State watercraft officers last year made 77 arrests for operating under the influence and 143 arrests for other alcohol-related violations.