Iowa officers cracking down this weekend on drinking while boating

Law enforcement agencies across the state will be participating in a campaign this weekend to crack down on boating under the influence, with increased patrols and check points on waterways, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The campaign is called Operation Dry Water and it runs Saturday through Monday.

“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,” Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said in a statement.

Operation Dry Water is a year-round national campaign, with an annual designated three-day weekend for heightened enforcement and awareness.

During the 2022 three-day weekend, the Iowa DNR and Iowa law enforcement contacted more than 1,425 vessels containing 5,253 boated, and resulting in 533 boating-related citations or warnings, according to a news release. A first offense boating while intoxicated charge in Iowa will result in an arrest and fines of up to $1,000.

The Coralville Lake, which is under the jurisdiction of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, is one of the top areas for boating while intoxicated arrests in state. The Sheriff’s Office will be patrolling the reservoir this weekend as part of the campaign.

“I really think having that presence out on the water, seeing our boat out there in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources … can really help deter a lot of that,” Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said. “In the end, the only way we can really drive down the numbers of people who die on the waterways every year is to just enforce the laws that we have.”

Kunkel said that most alcohol-based boating arrests come along with other citations. A deputy patrolling on lake might stop a boat for something like a lack of registration, and then discover that the person operating the boat is under the influence of alcohol.

“It’s not just their lives. It’s the lives of everybody else in the boat and on the water that they’re jeopardizing by exercising poor judgment. So, help us out and help everybody else out by not drinking and operating a boat,” Kunkel said.

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