Increased enforcement ahead for boating season

Published 1:21 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald

Sunny days and boats are just around the corner for Lake Tapps.

But with the fun, sun and boating comes management and policing problems.

Police enforcement is split between the Bonney Lake Police Department and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

Lake Tapps covers about 2,700 acres. Bonney Lake police cover the Church Lake area, about one-fourth of the entire lake. The department has one boat with two officers who work overtime shifts during lake patrol.

Bonney Lake patrols are generally on the weekends from Memorial Day to mid-September.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Marine Unit covers the rest of the lake.

Pierce County also has one boat with two officers aboard. Lt. Peter Cropp, manager of the marine services unit, said a second boat will randomly patrol when it is available.

"On certain days we will use two boats for emphasis," Cropp said. "It's difficult to be everywhere you need to be. When things are going well one boat is enough, but when it's busy and chaotic it's not enough. When people are not practicing safe boating you get problems. I'd like two boats most of the time, but there's not enough resources."

A problem that has been growing on Lake Tapps is raft parties.

Cropp said people tie their boats together and form a huge raft party, sometimes with more than 100 boats. Ages range from teenagers to people in their mid-30s. Residents on the lake have complained of excessive noise, alcohol use by minors and lewd behavior.

Last year when Pierce County sheriffs and Bonney Lake police tried to break up a raft party the people began throwing beer bottles at the officers.

With only four officers and at least 100 boats, the police pulled back.

"We intend to focus on the raft parties this year," Cropp said. "We want to control it the best we can. We not going to stop rafting as long as they're following the rules. With more patrolling hopefully it will be better this year than last. But the problems will be dealt with this year."

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald