BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which patrols lakes and waterways in the state, is asking people going to a lake or river over the holiday weekend to be cautious.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure everyone is being safe out her on the water. We encourage everyone before they put a boat in the water to make sure they have all the necessary equipment,” said Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources Game Warden Amy King.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan and news photographer Levar James went along as the DNR patrolled on Allatoona Lake Wednesday. The wardens stopped one boater and cited him for allowing a water skier to get too close to the shore and docks.
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“I’ve seen a couple of collisions out here on the water, and those are typically people not paying attention to their surroundings,” said King.
It has been a grim and challenging year when it comes to drowning. Tuesday, a 60-year-old woman drowned at Allatoona Lake. Early in June, a 17-year-old boater also drowned at the lake after falling or being knocked out of his vessel.
The DNR reports 38 drownings, 69 boating incidents and six boating fatalities across Georgia so far this year.
“Working drownings on the lake can be a very difficult operation. Most of the drownings we work, people weren’t wearing a life jacket. It’s not a cliché when I say life jackets save lives,” King said.
The DNR along with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Marine unit seized cocaine, ecstasy and nitrous oxide cannisters from a party barge on Lake Lanier. Four people were arrested.
The DNR says it averages around 50 boating under the influence arrests on Allatoona Lake during the summer.
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