Authorities take aim at drunken boaters

A special enforcement push this weekend will target intoxicated boat drivers in the state.

For the third year running, the Department of Natural Resources is launching a push to target intoxicated boat drivers on the weekend before the Fourth of July.

DNR Capt. Greg Salo says the blood alcohol content limit on water is the same as on land, and "people can look at boating under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence as one in the same."

"If you're out on the water for eight hours a day and you're having cocktails, you're alcohol content is going up and you may not realize it," said Salo. "That's when it really starts building up in your system."

About 30 percent of boating accidents involve alcohol, the same ratio seen in traffic accidents on land.

County and local law enforcement officials will assist the DNR in the enforcement effort.