DES MOINES – June 24, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — A group of state, federal and local law enforcement agencies will partner again to focus enforcement of Iowa’s boating while intoxicated law as part of the national Operation Dry Water campaign to draw public attention to the hazards of boating under the influence.
“We will conduct boating while intoxicated focused enforcement with increased patrols, check points, and be administering breath tests and working to inform the public on the hazards involved on the waters across Iowa,” said Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR.
Operation Dry Water is June 26-28.
More than 71 percent of Iowa’s boating fatalities involved alcohol in 2014 and many of those victims were innocent bystanders,” she said.
“The effects of alcohol can be intensified when combined with wind and wave action and an extended time spent in the sun. Operators may not think they are under the influence, but their judgment, reaction time, balance and vision indicate that they are,” Stocker said.
In 2014, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and its partners contacted more than 354 vessels containing 1,109 boaters resulting in 59 citations or warnings as part of Operation Dry Water. The 2014 effort was conducted on the, Coralville Reservoir, Clear Lake, Mississippi River, Lake Rathbun, Lake Red Rock, Okoboji and the Missouri River.
The DNR has partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and local sheriff’s department as part of previous Operation Dry Water campaigns.
2014 TOP AREAS FOR BWI ARRESTS
Mississippi River: 12
Coralville: 8
Clear Lake: 5
Des Moines River: 4
Saylorville Lake: 3
Total BWI: 41
2013 TOP AREAS FOR BWI ARRESTS
Saylorville Lake: 18
Coralville: 13
Mississippi River: 9
Okoboji: 4
Missouri River: 4
Total BWI: 56
2012 TOP AREAS FOR BWI ARRESTS
Mississippi River: 32
Saylorville Lake: 16
Okoboji: 15
Coralville: 14
Clear Lake: 6
Total BWI: 95
2011 TOP AREAS FOR BWI ARRESTS: [July 1, BAC dropped from .10% to .08%]
Mississippi River: 19
Coralville Reservoir: 13
Saylorville Lake: 13
Okoboji: 4
Clear Lake: 3
Total BWI: 55
2010 TOP AREAS FOR BWI ARRESTS:
Mississippi River: 10
Saylorville Lake: 6
Coralville Reservoir: 5
Missouri River: 4
Clear Lake: 3
Total BWI: 40
