Almost 5,000 boaters got to meet Wildlife officers during the week of Operation Dry Water.
The Wildlife Resources Commission’s (WRC) annual effort targets impaired and unsafe boaters on all state waterways, and is held in conjunction with Operation Firecracker on land.
Statewide, Wildlife officers charged 37 boaters, including two in Columbus County, with boating while impaired, issued 436 citations for everything from equipment violations to a lack of floatation devices, and investigated six crashes. A total of 153 officers were involved statewide.
Lt. Forrest Orr of the WRC said incidents went down this year over 2023, but there were no significant charges. Last year, 4,257 boaters were contacted by Wildlife officers, with 38 BWI arrests for alcohol and two for suspected drug use. Officers investigated nine incidents, and issued 448 citations.
The highest blood alcohol content last year was .17, while this year’s was .18. In North Carolina, a blood alcohol content of .08 is considered legally impaired.
Last year’s enforcement sweep was on July 1-3, which was a Saturday, Sunday and Monday. This year the effort took place from Thursday through Saturday. Offices were still working before and after each holiday period.
Boating while impaired carries the same criminal and civil penalties as impaired driving. The movement of a boat due to wind and waves can increase the effects of alcohol by two to three times, according to the WRC. Impaired boating accidents tend to result in more injuries and death compared to highway crashes. While there are generally fewer drunk boating wrecks when compared to highway crashes involving impairment, boating crashes have a significantly higher chance of death and injury.
