Officials stress safety on the lakes this 4th of July weekend

Roland Adams with the Cross Water Yacht Club says the marina was built at the height of the drought in 2013.

"Before, it was almost like we were crying for people to come back because there was nobody out here," Adams said.

But now, he says they're about 650 feet closer to shore than they were.  And they're ready for a big Fourth of July weekend.

"We geared up for the biggest.  We got a load of gas this morning to fill up our 12,000 gallon capacity tank.  I feel like we're going to do every bit of that this weekend," Adams said.

Fox 7 took a ride on the Travis County Sheriff's Office boat on Friday as they did routine safety checks with boaters.

"We'll make sure that they have life vests for everyone on board, make sure that they know where their throw cushion is, know where their fire extinguisher and other safety equipment is because in an emergency on the water, time is of the essence," Rios said.

Sgt. Don Rios says they're encouraging boaters to slow down so they can maneuver around other boaters or swimmers.

Recently a teenaged girl drowned in Georgetown after inhaling carbon monoxide from sitting on the back of a boat.

"It's the type of gas that you can't determine when it's going to effect you and when you're going to pass out so the best thing to do is just stay completely away from the back of the boat when it's on," Rios said.

As far as alcohol goes, Rios says the same laws for the road apply to the water as well.