Posted: Fri, 2 Jul 2010 10:15 PM - 9,246 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.