Posted: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 10:15 PM - 184 Readers
By: Tiffany Young
Texas lakes are the most dangerous in the nation, and with
AquaPalooza coming to Lake Travis July 10, officials are concerned about
safety on the lake.
At last estimate, 1,500 people had registered a boat for the all-day
lake concert featuring country singer Brad Paisley.
“We do expect there will be a lot of people out there and anytime you
mix a lot of people with alcohol on the water, you have a possibility
of some terrible things happening,” said Roger Wade, public information
officer for Travis County Sheriff’s Office. “Everybody is working
together with the promoter to make sure everybody is safe.”
A variety of public safety and emergency response teams have
jurisdiction on and around Lake Travis. The Lake Travis Task Force is a
coalition of these agencies that meets monthly to share information and
coordinate efforts to keep the lake safe.
Wade said the various agencies talk about upcoming holiday weekends
and large events like AquaPalooza so they can make sure they have enough
manpower to cover the lake. They also work together to educate the
public about lake safety.
“All the different agencies that work around the lake now can talk to
one another and know what their limitations are and what they can offer
out on the water, so if there is something that happens we can respond
with the appropriate personnel,” Wade said.
This year Lake Travis has been hovering around full capacity at an
elevation of 681 feet since March, which means more people may be taking
advantage of the lake.
“There are a lot of boats on the lake,” said Clara Tuma, spokesperson
for the Lower Colorado River Authority, one of the organizations that
patrols the lake. “We expect it to be a busy summer. And when you have a
lot of boats on the lake, you have more potential for boat accidents.”
Marine law enforcement saw a decrease in the number of
boating-related fatalities last year in the state of Texas. In 2008
there were 61 boating-related fatalities but that number dropped to 38
in 2009, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The total
number of statewide water fatalities was 127 last year, with two of
those occurring on Lake Travis.
Two people have died already this year on Lake Travis—one was boating
related.
Hazards come with high water
At 64 miles long, Lake Travis is the largest lake in Travis County.
“Lake Travis is a very, very urban lake; there’s a lot of people that
come to Lake Travis,” said Patrol Sgt. Len Snyder, one of about 25 LCRA
Rangers whose focus is to provide law enforcement, public safety and
medical rescue on LCRA lands and waters.
Tuma said the high level of water in the lake has allowed all of the
boat ramps to open and other areas of the lake to be accessible to
people again.
“Every level of the lake poses a different danger,” Tuma said. “But
it’s not a dangerous lake; it’s a dangerous situation if you’re not
careful.”
Tuma said that, like traffic accidents, not everyone involved in a
boat accident is at fault—there is just a greater chance of collisions
with higher volumes on the lake.
Most accidents occur, Snyder said, when people consume too much
alcohol, travel at high speeds or are not cautious and engage in
horseplay with their boat or personal watercraft.
High waves can also be an issue on the lake. Snyder said two boats
capsized over Memorial Day weekend, dumping their passengers into the
water.
A popular destination for boaters that can sometimes turn dangerous
is Devil’s Hollow, also known as Devil’s Cove.
“Because you have many boats, many people and it’s a confined area,
things happen,” Tuma said. “You throw alcohol into the mix and it’s
shenanigan central.”
Along with accidents and drownings, Snyder said the Rangers have seen
issues with carbon monoxide poisoning at Devil’s Hollow.
“All these boats are on the water with their radios going, and they
have to leave their engines running to keep the batteries charged and
there’s all that carbon monoxide from hundreds of boats rafted off
together,” he said.
Staying safe
Bill Hagy, LCRA boating and water safety coordinator, said the main
reason people drown on a lake is they were not wearing some sort of
personal flotation device, or PFD.
“I don’t care what else they were doing out there; they’re dead
because they weren’t wearing a life jacket,” he said.
According to Texas law, children younger than 13 are required to wear
a Coast Guard–approved PFD while the boat is under way and all vessels
must carry an easily accessible PFD for every passenger on board. This
year TPWD game wardens have already issued 26 citations to vessels
having an insufficient number of PFDs.
Manufacturers now make lightweight life jackets that have Co2
canisters attached that only inflate the jacket when exposed to water.
Tuma said people should be aware of their surroundings and know how
to identify mile markers on the lake so they can tell safety officials
where they are in an emergency.
Boating while intoxicated, or BWI, is an offense that carries similar
penalties to driving while intoxicated. Tuma said people should limit
their alcohol intake and stay hydrated if they are drinking.
TPWD spokesman Mike Cox said a lot of boating accidents could be
prevented if people participated in boating training class—and also if
they stayed sober while on the lake.
“A lot of those accidents are caused when people are on the water and
they’re drinking and begin to feel they’re invincible,” he said.
Robert Cullick, head of strategic communication at the LCRA, said
Lake Travis is not dangerous in and of itself, but it is when people
head out on a boat without experience, skill or knowledge that they run
into trouble.
“It’s like you’ve never driven before and you decide to go out at 5
p.m. on [Interstate] 35,” he said. “It’s not a good idea.”
Lake Travis Task Force
The Lake Travis Task Force is a multi-agency public safety
organization made up of law enforcement and emergency responders with
jurisdiction on or adjacent to Lake Travis.
Members include:
- Austin/Travis County EMS
- Civil Air Patrol
- Jonestown Police Department
- Lago Vista Police Department
- Lake Travis Fire/Rescue ESD #6
- Lakeway Police Department
- LCRA
- North Lake Travis Fire/Rescue ESD #1
- Pedernales Fire Department
- Texas Parks and Wildlife
- Travis Co. Constable, Pct. 2
- Travis County Fire Marshall
- Travis County Parks
- Travis County Sheriff's Office
- Volente Fire Department
Nobody's Waterproof
The Nobody's Waterproof campaign, a partnership between LCRA and the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, began in 2006. Most weekends during
the summer, Nobody's Waterproof staff venture out onto one of the
Highland Lakes to engage with boaters about being safe on the water.
LCRA Communications Professional Kendra Clawson said Nobody's
Waterproof's primary target group is males ages 18–34, the age group
studies by the U.S. Coast Guard have shown are most prone to accidents
in the water.
Nobody's Waterproof summer staff, who are in the same age group, ask
other boaters water safety trivia questions and then give prizes for
attempted answers.
"It's young people educating other young people about water safety,"
Clawson said.
Clawson said the campaign focuses on the importance of wearing life
jackets, and studies conducted by Nobody's Waterproof on Lake Travis and
Lake LBJ using a U.S. Coast Guard–approved program show life jacket
usage on those lakes has gone up since the campaign began. From 2007 to
2009, there was a 10 percent increase in overall life jacket use and a
14 percent increase in its targeted age group.
Nobody's Waterproof will be on Lake Travis July 3, 9 and 10. Visit www.nobodyswaterproof.com.
