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TWRA focusing on inebriated boaters, June 29-July 1

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will be participating in Operation Dry Water, June 29-July 1.
Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign aimed at reducing alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities.
Operation Dry Water is held the weekend prior to the Independence Day holiday to give BUI enforcement high visibility during the peak boating season.
TWRA said boating officers will saturate high traffic areas on reservoirs across the state, which include Pickwick Lake, and intensify efforts to detect and apprehend boat operators who are operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In 2017 during Operation Dry Water, there were 13 boating under the influence arrests across the state.
Operating a boat with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher is illegal in Tennessee, the same as operating a motor vehicle. Penalties may include fines, jail, boat impoundment and the loss of boat driving privileges.
Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boater deaths. Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion intensify the effects of alcohol, drugs and some medications, according to TWRA.

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