Extra Deputies To Patrol Oakland County Lakes Over July 4

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Extra sheriff's deputies will be patrolling Oakland County lakes over the July 4 holiday period as part of a national campaign aimed at reducing alcohol, and drug-related accidents and fatalities on bodies of water.

Operation Dry Water was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard and local, state and federal law enforcement.

Oakland County to the north and northwest of Detroit has 450 navigable lakes and 83,000 registered boats, according to the sheriff's office.

The county's marine unit has 13 full-time deputies trained in dive and emergency rescue. It also has more than 45 part-time marine deputies who respond to lake emergencies, 23 patrol boats, two rapid response jump boats, one hovercraft, six all-terrain vehicles and three specialty boats for search and rescue emergencies.