STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) – If you’re heading out on the waterways this summer, you may have some company.
A national enforcement effort is targeting those who may be boating under the influence.
The initiative is called Operation Dry Water.
In his eight years patrolling the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Door County Sheriff’s Investigator Jason Stenzel says he has seen a lot on the water.
“It’s the slow, no-wake violations, things like that. Safety violations”
But Pat McCarty, the department’s Chief Deputy say one problem stands out above the rest.
“The number one contributing factor in boating fatalities, is alcohol”
Operation Dry Water is a national enforcement effort designed to stop those who may be drinking and boating.
Stenzel says they are seeing changes, like more designated drivers on the boats.
“Just by having our presence out here, it keeps everybody in check. We don’t like being the bad guys all the time, but sometimes I guess our presence is needed”
The Door County Marine Patrol will be joined by the Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Since Operation Dry Water launched in 2009, the number of boating deaths linked to alcohol, has dropped in the U.S.
From 2012 to 2013, there was a 31 percent decrease in the number of recreational boater deaths, where alcohol was the number one factor.
Officials say it’s the largest drop in the past five years.
