Conservation wardens and boat patrol officers will step up enforcement of drunken boating this weekend across state waters.

It's part of 'Operation Dry Water,' a nationwide effort to keep alcohol-related fatalities and accidents at bay.

According to the Dept. of Natural Resources, social drinking while out on the lake is very common during the summer, especially in Wisconsin.

And while that in of itself isn't illegal, operating a boat while intoxicated is.

The DNR reports that in 2008 there were 20 boating fatalities in Wisconsin. Nine of them were alcohol-related, while in four cases it was never determined if alcohol was a factor.

One growing trend is small-craft accidents, where a canoe or ski-boat turns and those inside fall out, or a skiier is run over.

"We're seeing more and more of these where everyone's having a good time and drinking, but they're skiing and they turn around to pick up a falling skiier and they'll run right into the skiier," said Jeff Dauterman, a recreation safety warden with the DNR.

Drunken boating is when the driver has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater.

This Friday through Sunday, patrols will be on the lookout for reckless behavior, and won't hesitate to give a breathalyzer to those they deem suspicious.

"It's relatively easy to see when people are at least what we suspect under the influence. Just in the way they're operating or behaving in the boat," he said.

Along with drunken boating, being impaired while a passenger on a boat can also hinder one's ability to save themself or others if there's an accident.

"Even though safety might be a life cusion or even the boat floating a few feet away or people trying to help them, they go immediately into panic mode," Dauterman said.

And that's when they drown.

In Wisconsin first time drunken boaters are fined $438, a second offense means a mandatory court appearance and bond.

Laws are more severe in Minnesota. Though the legal limit is also 0.08, first offenders can be fined $1,000 and go to jail.

The legal limit for operating a boat in Michigan is 0.07.

So far this year there have been six boating fatalities, two of them were alcohol-related.