High water gives law enforcement a welcome slow down

JOHNSON COUNTY – This summer has proven busy for law enforcers on Iowa's waterways, maybe a little too busy.

With weather as nice as it was on Saturday, you'd expect crowds on the lakes.

“We had some friends that came out here at six a.m. to make room because everyone thought there would be so many people out here, but that's not the case,” said Scott Salsberry, 24, Coralville.

The biggest reason for the lack of people, may have been that high water closed most of the boat ramps on the Coralville Reservoir.

For Conservation Officer Erika Billerbeck, this is a welcome slow down.

“Everyone is short staffed,” said Billerbeck.  “Sure, I think every lake in the state could use more enforcement than what they get.  But it's a matter of having enough money and people and boats and resources to do it.”

On this day, she teamed up with the Army Corps of Engineers and got help from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, it's a teamwork Billerbeck said they're trying to do more with.

Boaters, or floaters like Randy Monk appreciate the effort.

“Their presence is needed.  Once in a while things get carried away,” said Monk, Monticello.

Even though there were fewer people on the lake this weekend, there were still plenty of things to keep law enforcers busy.

Billerbeck stopped one man for expired boat registration, and ended up arresting him for operating a boat while intoxicated.

The DNR has been busy this summer.  Billerbeck said they've had four major incidents just this summer on the reservoir.  One of those incidents left a young girl dead after another boat hit her when she fell out of a tube.  Another incident resulted in a person having a finger torn off while trying to jump out of a stationary boat.

Billerbeck said the summer might be slower, if there were more officers on duty – some days, Billerbeck is the only law-enforcer on this big body of water.

“One person is not enough to cover a giant lake like this,” said Billerbeck.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Office is considering adding a water patrol to it's roster, but Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said that's in the initial planning stages, and wouldn't start until at least next summer, if at all.

“If they joined us, we wanted to show the deputies are more than welcome,” said Billerbeck.

Meanwhile, this slower time is welcome by many families on the water.

“This is nice, this is the way it should be,” said Stacy Christner, 44, Ely.

But it won't stay this calm forever.  Billerbeck knows that's just reality.