It was a busy weekend on the water for first responders. The Elkhorn river access was back open, Waterloo and Valley Fire Departments responded to a variety of calls.
Waterloo Fire said the calls all involved people who were drinking.
Rescuers saw injuries, people stranded on sandbars, and even a capsized airboat.
“That is pretty intense, it's probably because the Elkhorn River was closed down for a while, and everybody is like oh its back open, let’s go,’ said Daniel Twight.
Twight and a group of friends come out to the river a few times during the summer. He said the group knows how to have fun, safely.
“We are pretty seasoned, I feel like people that do get kind of crazy are the people that don't do this as often because they don't know,” he said.
Mike Kraus and his group will also take measures to avoid a water rescue.
“Life vests, we tie up a lot of these tubes and then stay in groups, when someone gets singled out is when you have problems,” said Kraus.
Both groups will monitor their alcohol consumption.
“It is a group effort, if we see somebody that is a little too much, we might cut them off and stick with them and give them an extra hand,” said Kraus.
“We have DD’s, we have cars at the end so we have to have people that are to take of people in case that is needed,” said Twight.
The NRD said the water levels are still safe to be open, the rescues this weekend were due to people not being responsible.
