(Des Moines) State, federal, and local law enforcement agencies encourage all boaters to avoid alcohol and drugs this busy holiday weekend to ensure everyone’s safety on Iowa waters.
Susan Stocker is the boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR. Operation Dry Water, says July 4-6, is a national campaign to reduce the number of alcohol- and drug-related incidents and fatalities on the water throughout the year. This effort to deter impaired boating and enforce Iowa’s boating while intoxicated (BWI) laws reminds boaters to stay sober and alert, always wear their life jackets, and take a boating safety education course.
Stocker says recognizing that impaired boating is as dangerous as impaired driving is vital.
Stocker says nationally, about one-third of boating fatalities involve alcohol. She says, unfortunately, 50 percent of boating fatalities in Iowa involve alcohol. She says alcohol and drugs (legal and illegal) can severely impair a boater’s judgment, reaction time, and ability to operate a vessel safely. The effects of alcohol, drugs, and some medications can be intensified when combined with sun, wind, and wave action.
In 2024, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its partners contacted more than 1,296 vessels, which carried 5,015 boaters, resulting in 477 citations or warnings as part of Operation Dry Water.
The DNR has partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and local police and sheriff’s departments as part of previous Operation Dry Water campaigns.
