DNR: No Major Boating Incidents on Hartwell Lake Over July 4 Holiday

Boaters on Lake Hartwell heeded the warnings about Boating Under the Influence over the 4th of July holiday.

According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark McKinnon there were no BUI arrests or citations handed out on Lake Hartwell during the holiday weekend which began at 12:01a July 1 and ended at 11:59p July 4.

Additionally, McKinnon said DNR Law Enforcement rangers on Hartwell Lake reported no boating or swimming accidents or incidents during that period.

However, it was not the same on nearby Lake Lanier where DNR officers cited and arrested 11 people for boating under the influence.

In Georgia, the law for boating under the influence is the same as for driving under the influence.

If you are caught boating impaired and are over the legal limit you will go to jail.

As for other incidents on Georgia’s lakes, McKinnon reported a single vessel incident on Lake Allatoona Saturday in which an adult male received a prop strike to the foot while holding on to a pontoon boat as it pulled into Glade Marina.

On Monday, there was an incident in Region 3 on the Ocmulgee River in Houston County where a boat struck an unidentified object in the river, which caused it to sink. There were no injuries.

And in Region 1 on Tuesday in which two occupants who were being towed on a tube by a pontoon boat on West Point Lake near Earl Cook boat landing were injured.

McKinnon said the tube hit a wake , which caused the two people to collide, causing injuries to both.

One occupant was transported to West Georgia Medical Center in Lagrange with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other was treated at the scene and released.