With summer temperatures and provincial lakes opening, the Ministry of the Environment is once again reminding residents about staying safe on Saskatchewan lakes.

Lindsay Leko is a Conservation Officer with the Ministry of the Environment.

"We want to make sure that everyone out there is doing their best to be boat safe and boat smart so that everyone can be safe out there. And part of it involves some equipment on the boat and a lot of it involves around alcohol."

Leko believes that many of the rules, like those regarding safety equipment and other measures, are fairly common sense, but others can sometimes get lost in the excitement of getting out on the water.

"Life jackets are pretty easy. There has to be a life jacket on board for every person and the life jacket has to be able to fit. So for example, if you have an infant, you wouldn't be able to put an adult large life jacket on it."

The rest of the equipment, some less obvious, is available from the recreational boating guide; such as rope, sounding devices, lights flares and bailing buckets for example.

As has become the norm, much of the education campaign continues to focus on alcohol consumption, which Leko believes is the subject of a great deal of bad information with a number of people still choosing to believe that boating and drinking go together during a hot summer weekend.

But nothing could be farther from the truth, he says.

"The misconception is that as long as it's a house or a pontoon boat, for example; as long as it's got a barbeque on it and a place to lay down and a place to go to the bathroom, it turns into a dwelling and that's not the case. In order for it to be a dwelling it has to have plumbed in cooking, heating and sleeping facilities and all that kind of stuff."

Regardless of the type of boat, operating the vehicle while impaired carries the same consequences as driving a vehicle.

"You're probably looking at a minimum $1,000 fine and a one-year loss of your driver's license."

Leko added that boating is considered a public place, therefore alcohol is considered public consumption, which can also carry fines up to $250 dollars and says that those are the ones that they will be enforcing the most.

Like last year, Conservation Officers will be teaming up with RCMP Traffic Services to look for infractions, and Leko's message to boaters is clear.

"Beware. If you're out there doing it properly, enjoy the water. It's a lot of fun. But if you're out there and doing that not the way you're supposed to be doing it, there's a chance that you're going to run into a Conservation Officer or an RCMP Officer and there will be consequences."