Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- State law enforcement urges boaters to prepare for prime boating season in Utah.
- Safety equipment like life jackets and paddles are crucial to prevent accidents.
- Quagga mussel decontamination is mandatory after visiting infested waters, officials warn.
PROVO — State law enforcement officers on Monday were urging boaters to arrive at lakes and reservoirs prepared, as prime boating season is fast approaching.
Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement Sgt. Sierra Schaefer said that season, which generally runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, presents potential safety and environmental problems.
"We often do boat tows on disabled vessels, and we often have people who aren't equipped with the right things," Schaefer said during an interview with KSL-TV. "We want everyone to come, have a good time, and go home safely."
Depending on the type of boat or craft, Schaefer said a variety of different pieces of equipment are recommended or required, including items like paddles or trolling motors, bail buckets, bilge pumps, fire extinguishers, throwables and life jackets.
"Especially, like, a spare paddle when they're out in the lake is super helpful," Schaefer said.
Schaefer and other officers underscored the importance of life jackets, noting that 80% of people who drowned in boating accidents nationally would have survived had they worn personal flotation devices.
"If you are going to try to have an inflatable life jacket, those are only for people who are 16 years or older," Schaefer reminded. "Those do not work for towing someone behind the boat or on jet skis."
Schaefer also urged boaters to follow all rules, regulations and navigation laws.
"In marinas, it is wakeless until you get out past the buoys, as well as following channel markers," Schaefer said. "Specifically on Utah Lake, it's very important because of how shallow it is — so knowing where hazards are and stuff like that."
Quagga mussels
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Lt. Bruce Johnson, who oversees the aquatic invasive species program, said boaters should use particular care to decontaminate after visiting mussel-infested waterbodies like Lake Powell or others in Arizona, Nevada and California.
He said decontamination is required for any boat that has been to those areas within the past 30 days.
"It can be transporting water that contains villagers and those quagga mussels," Johnson said. "Any small amount of water can carry thousands of those microscopic villagers."
Johnson showed off a state-of-the-art dip tank that had been installed at Utah Lake for the purpose of decontaminating boats before they enter the water.
"We're running it at about 110 degrees (Fahrenheit), which is about a two-and-a-half-minute exposure to give us that mortality that we're looking for in the villagers and quagga mussels," he said.
Johnson said quagga mussels can clog water lines, costing millions of dollars per year to remove from water delivery systems.
They can also damage boats, hurt other fish species, and potentially impact the smell of waterbodies, officers said.
They can even attach themselves to running shoes.
"These were in Lake Powell for one year, and that shows the level of infestation," Johnson said as he pointed to a mussel-encrusted pair of sneakers. "It doesn't take long to impede the flow of water through pipes."
Boaters, Johnson said, are required to take an annual, "mussel-aware" boater course, and launchers of motorized boats are required to pay an annual aquatic invasive species program vessel enrollment fee.
When leaving any body of water, and when transporting boats and other watercraft, Johnson said drain plugs must be removed along with any sea strainers.
All boats leaving Lake Powell are required to have an exit inspection, according to information provided by the state.
Officers added that there are more than 40 inspection stations located around the state as well as five decontamination dip tanks.
