Boats will be out on the water and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is sending out a safety reminder.
Communications Manager Adria Bergeron says the top thing to remember is to never mix alcohol and boat operation.
“If you are operating the vessel, it’s just like a car, you can get a BUI. Operation Dry Water to prevent boating and drinking and we are participating over July 4th, which is the most common weekend for boating accidents to occur.”
Bergeron emphasizes for those driving a boat to do a safety check.
“The Muskingum Watershed Rangers will do a boat safety check at any time. Make sure you have everything on board whether it’s the life vests, fire extinguisher, all of that stuff you need to have they’ll do that at any time.”
Knowing how the boat works is also needed, like what lights to have on at night and what any signs may mean.
“Be aware of what you need to be responsible for when you’re out on the lake. Know what you should be doing and what lights should be on or off. When you’re watching the fireworks, you need to know that your docking lights shouldn’t be on when you’re just driving the boat and just be sure that you know what you’re doing.”
Those coming to an MWCD lake this weekend should expect more traffic at the launch ramps, on the lake, and around the campgrounds.
For the Independence Day weekend, Atwood Lakes fireworks are Saturday at dusk, Tappan’s is Friday at dusk, and more scheduling can be found at mwcd.org.
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