Boating under the influence enforcement campaign taking place during Fourth of July weekend

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is participating in a nationwide campaign to keep impaired boaters off the water.

Operation Dry Water runs from July 3-5. The initiative aims to keep impaired boaters off the water during the extended Independence Day weekend and throughout the remainder of the summer.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is collaborating with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators for this campaign. The partnership seeks to increase boater awareness of the hazards associated with impaired boating.

This effort also works to decrease the number of accidents and deaths attributed to impaired boating and other unsafe boating practices.

In Pennsylvania, it is unlawful to operate any watercraft, whether powered or unpowered, while impaired. The legal blood alcohol limit for boat operators is .08%.

Penalties for Boating Under the Influence include fines, loss of boating privileges and possible imprisonment.

Col. Jeffrey Sabo emphasized the shared responsibility for safety on the water.

“The waters of the Commonwealth are shared by all of us and they should be a safe place to enjoy,” Sabo said. “A boat operator’s judgment and reaction time are affected by alcohol and drugs the same way as when you’re driving a car on the road. That impairment can actually be greater on a boat because of the added stressors of sun, heat, wind and noise.”

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recommends that boaters avoid alcohol completely or designate an operator who will not consume any alcohol during a boating trip.

In 2025, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission arrested 27 individuals for Boating Under the Influence. Nine of those arrests occurred during the Operation Dry Water campaign.

Among the individuals arrested in 2025 was a boat operator with a blood alcohol content of .198%, which was approximately two-and-a-half times the legal limit.

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