Northwest Iowa — Last week we told you about the Iowa Department of Natural Resources “Operation Dry Water Campaign”, which was held last weekend, June 24th through 26th.
The boating law administrator with the Iowa DNR has now released the results of that enforcement effort last weekend on the state’s waterways. Susan Stocker says officers had contact with more than 700 vessels during the Operation Dry Water campaign, June 24-26.
The waters targeted for this year’s effort included the Okoboji lakes, as well as other bodies of water across the state. Stocker says Iowa fares worse than the national average, with roughly half of the boating-related fatalities in Iowa involving alcohol.
There were three boating fatalities in Iowa last year and two involved alcohol, according to Stocker. The Operation Dry Water campaign is intended to draw public attention to the hazards of boating under the influence going into the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
In addition to the 10 BWI arrests last weekend, the Iowa DNR and other agencies issued 227 citations or warnings. Stocker said most of the violations and warnings involved not having the proper safety equipment onboard. There are slightly less than 220,000 registered boats in Iowa.
