North Coast sheriff’s deputies are stepping up enforcement against drunken boaters this weekend.

Instead of a DUI, it’s called a BUI (boating under the influence) and it can land you in just as much trouble.

“We want people to have a great time on the water, but we want them to be responsible,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ed Hoener said.

Today through Sunday, Hoener and other deputies will be looking for BUIs on Lake Sonoma, the Russian River, the Petaluma River and along the coast.

In Lake County, the Sheriff’s Office there will conduct a checkpoint on Clear Lake with the help of the state Department of Fish and Game and state parks officers.

The local enforcement is part of a nationwide Operation Dry Water campaign this weekend involving police agencies in every state, plus the Coast Guard.

Hoener said 20 percent of national boating fatalities are alcohol related, and he noted that a woman died last year after a swimming accident while boating at Lake Sonoma.

He said that in Sonoma County, deputies will focus their enforcement on Lake Sonoma because that is where most drinking violations occur and where there’s the greatest potential for alcohol problems.

Like drivers of cars, boat operators with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher are subject to arrest.