DNR Officials Hitting The Water This Weekend

By Jami Brinton, Reporter

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By Jami Brinton

Story Created: Jul 3, 2009 at 2:07 PM CST

Story Updated: Jul 3, 2009 at 5:23 PM CST

CORALVILLE LAKE - Hundreds of boaters are gathering at Coralville Lake to celebrate this holiday weekend. That increased traffic on the water is creating greater public safety risks. This means more Iowa Department of Natural Resources officers will be out in force looking for reckless drivers and making sure boaters are properly equipped to spend a day on the Lake.

Officer Shawn Meier is one of several state DNR representatives who'll be patrolling Coralville Lake this weekend searching for unsafe boaters. Meier wants to make sure boaters are equipped with the proper number of life jackets, a fire extinguisher and a horn.

Children age 12 and under are required to wear their life jacket at all times. "If we catch a kid wearing a life jacket, we're going to give them a free frosty," said Officer Meier.

Water patrol officer Luke McClamroch outlines other safety violations they'll be watching for this weekend. "Make sure their boat isn't overloaded with people is what we're going to look for the most," explained Officer McClamroch. "Then, over time, we're going to start looking for people who have been drinking too much on the lake and probably should be taken off."

Drunk boat drivers are a big concern for water safety officers.

"Oh, it's a hug factor," said Officer Meier. "We don't have a driving line. You can't determine where you're going everything time. There's no brakes on the boat so your reaction timems are going to be limited because of where you are - on the water, in a boat."

Officer McClamroch tells TV9 that so far this has been a safe summer.

"Ya, I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible," said McClamroch.

You can visit the Iowa DNR website by clicking on the link in the "Related Content" section of this story.

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