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Butler County may not be located on the coast of a great lake or ocean, but the Great Miami River and other bodies of water attract watercraft enthusiasts, and the sheriff’s office Marine Patrol is out to enforce safety.
Thanks to a $22,000 annual grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and matching county funds of $7,300, specially trained deputies are cruising the river, Acton Lake in Hueston Woods State Park and Voice of America MetroPark during the summer months to conduct safety equipment inspections, boater education and enforcement of traditional boat and alcohol laws.
“There is more activity on the river than you might think during the summer,” said Sgt. Rick Bucheit. He is one of 16 deputies currently trained for marine patrol duty.
In 2012, the patrol conducted 72 written vessel safety inspections and did 17 spot checks while on patrol. In 2011, 85 written inspections were completed and 47 spot checks conducted.
Bucheit said officers are looking for legal documents, title and registration for the watercraft and making sure proper safety equipment is on board, which includes not only life vests, but distress signals and orange flags.
Also important is to assure the correct number of people are in the boat, the person operating the vessel is of age, and that alcohol regulations are being followed.
“There really isn’t a lot of recreational boating on the river, but we get a lot of people test driving before they go to Cumberland or Brookville Lake,” Bucheit said. The use of recreational wave runners are also popular in the Great Miami River because of the wide stretch of water almost to the Black Street bridge.
The Marine Patrol also provides high-tech sonar that helps in the aid of locating underwater objects, or possibly a victim from a drowning.
Last month the sonar was used to help recover a teen who drowned in Hamilton in the Great Miami River canal.
The patrol has been around for more than 20 years, but has become even more active in the past five years, officials said. Officers are on the water for four-hour shifts in the summer on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as high-traffic summer holidays, including Memorial Day, Labor Day and Fourth of July. They are also present for special events at VOA Park and Hamilton’s River Days.
“It really is a benefit to the county,” said Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer. “The river is dangerous. Scary dangerous. It seems like every year we have a death or more than one on the river. They also help out with flooding situations. It’s one of those things — when you need them, you need them.”
On July 6, heavy rain canceled regular river patrolling, but it turned out to be a busy day for the patrol. Working with Fairfield firefighters, they rescued two people stranded when a flash flood filled a Monroe business with several feet of water.
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