Why Extra Patrols Will Soon Be On The Water Throughout Minnesota

With warm weather in the forecast and a long Fourth of July weekend ahead, Minnesota's waterways are about to get crowded.

Among the boaters, anglers, and tubers heading out to the water will be the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and their public safety partners, watching to make sure everyone who launches makes it home.

From July 3 through 5, those officers will be conducting Operation Dry Water, an annual nationwide campaign aimed squarely at boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The goal is simple: get impaired operators off the water before a fun day turns into a tragedy.

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Why The Holiday Weekend Draws Extra Patrols

July is, by a wide margin, the most dangerous month on Minnesota's lakes. Historically, roughly a third of the state's boating accidents happen during it, much of that clustered around the Fourth of July.

While most boaters do the right thing and leave the alcohol on shore, the DNR says dozens of people are still arrested for BWI each year in the days surrounding the holiday.

According to the DNR, alcohol is involved in about 30 percent of fatal boat accidents in the state. Nationally, the U.S. Coast Guard has ranked alcohol as the leading contributing factor in boating deaths year after year.

Minnesota Has Zero Tolerance — And It Means It

Alcohol is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating incidents, and the federal BAC legal limit for operating a vessel under the influence is .08.

Some important things to note are:

• Alcohol use can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision and reaction time.
• Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion —“stressors” common to the boating environment— intensify the effects of alcohol, drugs, and some medications.
• Alcohol use can increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion.
• Alcohol is dangerous for passengers too. Intoxication can cause slips, falls overboard, and other dangerous incidents.

The Minnesota DNR doesn't mince words about the consequences. "People who get caught boating under the influence will go to jail. We have zero tolerance for that behavior," said Lt. Eric Sullivan, supervisor of the DNR Enforcement Division's Marine Unit.

Sullivan adds that people who make the selfish decision to boat under the influence put themselves and everyone else on the water in danger, and the consequences can be disastrous and life-changing.

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It's important to note that Minnesota's BWI laws are clear: Anyone convicted of operating under the influence, whether they're behind the wheel of a boat, a car, or a recreational vehicle, loses the privilege to operate all of them. In other words, a bad decision on the lake can cost you your driver's license, too.

The Life Jacket Factor

Staying sober is half the message from the DNR in terms of boating safety. The other half is wearing a life jacket.

In a recent year, Minnesota recorded nine boating deaths, and not one of the victims was wearing a life jacket — even though most of the boats involved had them on board.

Far too often, a fall overboard becomes a fatality simply because a life jacket was sitting in a storage compartment instead of on a body.

There is encouraging news in the bigger picture. Minnesota's boating fatalities have trended down lately, with nine deaths in both 2023 and 2024 and seven in 2025.

However, 2026 has already seen its first fatalities, a grim reminder that things on the water can turn tragic in an instant.

Before You Head Out

The formula for a safe weekend isn't complicated: designate a sober operator, put the life jacket on before you leave the dock, and save the cold ones for back on shore.

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For more on the campaign and boating safety, the DNR points to the Operation Dry Water website and the DNR's boating safety page.