(KNSI) – Officials will be looking to bust intoxicated boaters over the Fourth of July weekend.
Operation Dry Water starts Friday and goes through Sunday.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says hundreds of conservation officers and other public safety personnel will be using extra patrols looking for drunk boaters.
Across the nation, including in Minnesota, boating while intoxicated is the leading contributing factor in boating accidents and fatalities.
The DNR says, in 2020, nine of the 16 boating fatalities – more than 56 percent – in Minnesota involved alcohol, an increase from the six-year average of 44 percent.
Operation Dry Water coincides with the Fourth of July holiday weekend, when waterways are particularly busy and BWI-related injuries and deaths tend to spike.
Operation Dry Water is a nationwide campaign to highlight the dangers of boating under the influence of drugs and alcohol and call attention to the heavy penalties.
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