Erin Brockovich, the woman whom Julia Roberts portrayed in film in 2000, has been arrested for operating a boat while drunk in Nevada. The 52-year-old mother of three has been released on a $1,000 bail after being cited for operating under the influence (OUI).

According to the Daily Mail, a game warden in Lake Mead, Nevada noticed Brockovich struggling with her boat at a marina. She apparently had been slurring her speech, and was unsteady on her feet as she was trying to do the task. She had been out with a male companion, but was alone when she tried to dock her boat.

Nevada Department of Wildlife's Edwin Lyngar said that her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit of .08 when she was arrested.

"She was obviously struggling to put the boat in the slip, and if you've had any experience, it's a simple enough operation," the online paper quoted Lyngar as saying.

"This incident is an important reminder that boating under the influence is on par with driving under the influence."

Brockovich, who now sports the hyphenated name of Brockovich-Ellis following her marriage in 1999, was taken to Clark County Detention Centre, and was later released on $1,000 bail.

She released a statement, saying, "I apologise for my actions Friday evening. After a day in the sun and with nothing to eat it appears that a couple of drinks had a greater impact than I had realised. It is very important to note that I was not operating the boat in open waters, I was moving it within its own slip.

"At no time was the boat away from the dock and there was no public safety risk. That being said, I take drunk driving very seriously, this was clearly a big mistake, I know better and I am very sorry."

The former legal clerk became a worldwide celebrity in 2000 after the eponymous "Erin Brockovich" film was released. Roberts won an Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying her in the time of her life when she helped win a $333 million settlement case from the Pacific Gas & Electric company for the residents of Hinkley in California poisoned by chemicals released in their water supply.

Since then, Brockovich became a prominent activist, taking on various environmental litigation cases.