Metro Atlanta officials urge boating safety awareness ahead of busy Fourth of July weekend

The heat and an increased law enforcement presence will be two guarantees on the water over this Independence Day holiday weekend.

CBS News Atlanta did an hour-long ride-along on Lake Lanier with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on Thursday, ahead of the start of Operation Dry Water on Friday.

Operation Dry Water is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness and enforcement around Boating under the influence, or BUI. While open containers on a boat are legal in the state of Georgia, a BUI can be issued to anyone who is over the legal limit and is operating any form of a transportation vessel on the water.

"Just like a DUI, boating under the influence has the legal limit of .08, so we're out here checking operators to make sure that they're under that legal limit, to make sure they're not impaired and keeping everybody safe," Georgia DNR Game Warden Spencer Palmer said.

According to the Georgia DNR, the Fourth of July weekend is one of, if not their busiest, peak times for boat activity and the number of people they're expecting out on the water. They also said it tends to be the hottest, so they're asking everyone to have patience, slow down, have a sober operator, and abide by all state laws and requirements.

"We want to make sure everybody that's coming to the lake is safe, so if they're going to be operating, that they're doing that sober. We want to make sure that everybody has their boater education, so anyone born after Jan. 1, 1998 is required to take a boater education class to operate a vessel," Palmer said. "We want to make sure children under the age of 13 are all wearing their life jackets or PFDs when the boats are in motion so we can help prevent drownings."

The Georgia DNR said so far this year, Georgia has had 29 water fatalities or drownings, with five of those on Lake Lanier and four boating fatalities total throughout the state.

Aside from checking for impaired operators, the Georgia DNR, along with other agencies out on the water, will be looking to see if boaters have the proper equipment on board. People fishing will also have to provide proof of a fishing license.

"When we stop a vessel, we're going to ask for three things required: a PFD, or flotation device for every person on board the vessel, a type 4 throwable device, which is typically like a throw cushion or a ring, and a fire extinguisher just in case of emergencies."

More information can be found here.