Fourth of July is busy day on the water - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The Fourth of July is a time to get the boat out, but the low water levels on area lakes and reservoirs are making it more dangerous.

Boats and patriots are in place at Geist Reservoir for Wednesday night's fireworks show. The director told Eyewitness News the 26-minute choreographed musical fireworks show will include some Bruce Springsteen and Neil Diamond. But before the fun in the sky, the focus today has been safety on the water.

Wednesday was the Shields family's first time celebrating the Fourth of July on their boat.

"We hope to make it a tradition for many years to come," said Kevin Shields.

While they have all the food and drinks they need for the holiday, its permits, lifejackets and sobriety that Indiana conservation officers hope is the main focus for boaters.

"We are going to be looking for overloaded boats with the threat of capsizing and sinking. People going too fast or in idle zone. And we will look for intoxicated boater and alcohol violations," said Jake Carlile, Department of Natural Resources.

Officer Carlile spent 12 hours patrolling Geist on America's holiday.

"You guys casting them off? Can I have your licenses and three life jackets? I'll take a look at those," he said, after stopping a boat.

The officers are also looking closely for those boaters who've had too much too drink. Last year, nearly 85 percent of all boating accidents involved alcohol.

The conservation officer says while they'll be looking for all the tell-tale party signs, they can't be everywhere.

"We want to encourage others to let us know if you see something or something that could be a problem," he said.

While other cities in Indiana won't celebrate with fireworks Wednesday night, the show will go on at Geist. Extra fire crews will be on the lake due to the extremely dry air. Boaters are being pushed back nearly 200 feet farther from the launch site this year than last.

Fireworks were set for 10:00 pm at Geist. The bridge was shut down now for those people who aren't on a boat to claim their spot for the show on land. Last year nearly 20,000 people enjoyed the show.