The Tarrant Regional Water District offered tips for boaters and hikers after a pair of weekend emergencies at Eagle Mountain Lake.
DALLAS — North Texas authorities are stressing certain safety precautions after a string of emergencies on North Texas lakes.
Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) law enforcement division sergeant Rick Odom says it’s critical for boaters to wear life jackets, stay hydrated, and limit alcohol consumption.
“We want them to have fun, but we want them to be safe doing so,” he said.
The TRWD manages Eagle Mountain Lake. There were two incidents at the reservoir on Saturday.
A district spokesperson says a boat passenger Saturday fell overboard. The boat driver reversed and the propellers struck the man, severely wounding him.
A witness loaded the man into his boat and rushed him to Twin Points Park, where the Azle Fire Department medics were waiting. The spokesperson says a Careflight helicopter took the man to a Fort Worth Hospital, where he was placed on life support.
Game Wardens arrested the boat operator for boating while intoxicated, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson said. Wardens are still investigating the incident.
The same day, authorities spent hours searching for a dehydrated hiker who got lost near Eagle Mountain Lake. They located him, alive, Saturday night.
In Kaufman County, officials Sunday found the body of a missing kayaker in the Trinity River near Crandall.
Odom noted that Eagle Mountain Lake has gotten busier as its water rises. Heavy rain in the spring replenished most of North Texas’s lakes, which were low last summer.
On busy days, the TRWD law enforcement division sends more patrol officers to manage crowds and watch for unsafe behavior.
Odom said many boaters, especially some who’ve rented their boats, don’t know how to operate the vessel in the safest manner.
“We’ll stop and educate them and go from there,” he said, stressing the importance of boating education courses and hands-on training programs.
It is most important, Odom said, that people on the water wear a life jacket. There is a loaner station at Twin Points Park on Eagle Mountain Lake with jackets for infants, children, and adults so there is “no excuse,” Odom said.
It is illegal for people with blood-alcohol levels above .08 percent to operate a boat, the same legal limit for a car. Passengers can have an open container in Texas, but one passenger is legally required to act as a lookout for the boat driver. Odom said it is better to do that job sober.
In an emergency on water or land, call 911 and stay put.
“This lake in particular, we’ll come to you,” he said. “We’ll find you.”