The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting heightened enforcement targeting boating under the influence as part of the national Operation Dry Water campaign.

Law enforcement will be focused on educating boaters about safe boating practices, which includes boating sober, and enforcing the state’s boating under the influence laws.

With the summer boating season underway and the July 4 holiday approaching, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office reminds boaters that impaired boating is against the law. Operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal on all bodies of water and can lead to serious injuries and consequences.

In Washington state it is illegal to operate a vessel with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) level of .08 or higher — the same as it is to operate a vehicle.

“The accidents and tragedies that happen because individuals chose to drive drunk or impaired, on land or on the water, are preventable,” Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said in a press release last week.

“As law enforcement, it is our job to do all we can to ensure the safety of our recreational boaters and paddlers. That is why the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is joining other states and agencies across the country to do our part in keeping boaters safe and preventing accidents related to boating under the influence.”

Alcohol is the leading contributing factor in recreational boating deaths, and a major contributor to accidents, according to U.S. Coast Guard Recreational boating statistics (2017).

Visit operationdrywater.org for more information about boating under the influence.