OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit will have additional marine deputy patrols on Oakland County lakes from July 4-6.
The Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit- the largest in the state- will be bringing back the Operation Dry Water campaign to Oakland County.
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The Operation Dry Water campaign was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard and local, state, and federal law enforcement. The goal of the campaign is to reduce alcohol and drug-related accidents and deaths on the water.
Oakland County is a popular destination for water sports with more than 450 navigable lakes and 83,000 registered boats. The most of any county in Michigan.
The marine unit is part of the Sheriff’s Office Technical Support Group, which is comprised of 45 part-time marine deputies and a 30-member Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, with full-time deputies trained in search and rescue and public safety diving.
The sheriff’s office also contracts with 12 communities to patrol 19 lakes: Cass Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Deer Lake, Lake Orion, Lower Straits Lake, Lake Sherwood, Lakeville Lake, Maceday Lake, North Commerce Lake, Orchard Lake, Pine Lake, South Commerce Lake, Sylvan Lake, Upper Long Lake, Voorheis Lake, Walled Lake, Walnut Lake, White Lake, and Williams Lake.
In 2024, 485 local, state, and federal agencies and more than 7,000 officers participated in Operation Dry Water.
- Over the three-day weekend, law enforcement officers made 584 boating “under the influence” arrests and issued 43,554 citations and warnings for safety violations.
- It is illegal in every state to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which includes canoes and rowboats.
- 85 percent of people who drown in a recreational boating accident did not wear a life jacket.
- Operating a boat with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher is against federal and most state laws