How to stay safe on Minnesota waters this summer
MINNEAPOLIS - The land of 10,000-plus lakes and nearly 70,000 miles of river has never gone a year without fatalities on the water in the summer.
The death rate has ebbed and flowed but dropped off significantly since peaking at 71 fatalities in 2021, following the height of the pandemic. Minnesota last year saw 18 drownings and watercraft deaths, a record low, but already this season there have been two drownings on one lake in northern Minnesota within three weeks and a deadly boat crash.
“Starting the open water season with unfortunate fatalities is a bad way to start,” said Lisa Dugan, boat and water safety outreach coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
In the past decade, Minnesota had an average 39 drownings that did not involve boats and 13 boating fatalities each summer. Open water always poses hazards, but watercraft present particular dangers and require additional safety measures.
Waterways are different than roadways, Dugan said. No lanes. No traffic signals. Someone on a stand-up paddle board or in kayak is navigating the same waves as others out fishing or tubing.
“It’s a shared resource that we all are able to enjoy, and with that comes the shared responsibility of keeping yourself safe and others on the water safe,” she said.
Waterways get especially busy around the Fourth of July and other holidays. That increased activity also means more alcohol consumption and more people on board. All need life jackets and a safe drive home.
“A day on the water, a safe day on the water, is fun no matter what,” Dugan said. “The important thing is making it home at the end of the day.”
Here are some guidelines to avoid troubled waters.
- Familiarize yourself with new-to-you waterways and share your plans with someone on shore. If exploring a body of water for the first time, bring along a friend who knows the area, or talk with locals at a coffee shop or bait shop who can inform you of any potential hazards or must-see spots.
- Storms can develop quickly and wind gusts are becoming more frequent in the state. Check for updates in the forecast. Weather can shift unpredictably in severe weather months, which peak in June and July.
This is why knowing the area where you’re recreating is so important. If dark clouds roll in, you need to know how to quickly get to safety.
- Always swim at a designated beach or swimming area, whether or not lifeguards are present. Especially in rivers or larger bodies of water, Dugan said, there can be currents and drop-offs that swimmers can’t see.
“Stay within the boundaries of the swim area,” she said. “They’re going to be more predictable.”
- It’s legal to drink and operate a boat in Minnesota, but boat operators are still subject to the same legal limit as drivers.
Half of all boating fatalities involve alcohol, Dugan said. She wants to challenge boating norms and suggests leaving alcohol on shore or designating a sober operator.
- It’s illegal to text and boat, but cellphones aren’t the only things distracting boaters. The increasing popularity of new fishing technology, for instance, is an added safety challenge.
“Have a boat operator who is committed to not being distracted and keeping their phone down and keeping their eyes on the water,” Dugan said. “Because there is so much going on around you that it really does take all of your attention to keep your eyes on the water.”
- Don’t just bring life jackets along. Actually wear them.
In nearly every open-water fatality, victims are not wearing a life jacket.
Dugan said no one plans to go overboard or capsize, so it’s best to keep a life jacket on at all times.
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