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Members of Green Valley Recreation’s Swim Club enjoy a late-winter practice session at the West Center pool.

Pima County's free Water Safety Expo is set to take place Saturday, Aug. 20. 

Members of Green Valley Recreation’s Swim Club enjoy a late-winter practice session at the West Center pool.

Pima County's free Water Safety Expo is set to take place Saturday, Aug. 20. 

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Arizona’s warm weather, long summers and thousands of residential swimming pools make the state a paradise for aquatic recreation. But having ample opportunity for splashing around in the sun makes water safety that much more important.

In the mid-1980s, the drowning death rate for Arizona preschoolers ranked first in the nation, according to the state Department of Health Services. Thanks to the efforts of multiple federal, state and local agencies to mitigate water-based injuries and death, that rate has dropped but still remains high.

For the past six years, Arizona has ranked fourth among the 50 states for the highest rate of drownings of children ages 1 to 4 years, and in recent years, drowning has been the leading cause of death for Arizonans in that age group, according to ADHS.

Across the state, Drowning Impact Awareness Month is recognized by local governments, nonprofits and first responders each August – one of the busiest months for water-related emergencies in many Arizona counties – to draw attention to the importance of general safety and awareness around water.

So far this year, there have been six water-related incidents in Pima County, including one child fatality, according to data from the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona.

While the majority of drowning incidents in Arizona occurs in large bodies of water, safety precautions aren’t just important by the beach or the pool. Unintentional drownings can happen virtually anywhere, says Green Valley Fire District spokesperson L.T. Pratt.

“We may think about drowning as something that occurs in an ocean or a pool, and certainly that is accurate. Drowning can also occur in a bathtub, in a wading pool, a bucket of water, or anywhere where there is water that a person can immerse themselves in,” he said.

Last month, officers with the Sahuarita Police Department responded to a home in Madera Highlands where a child was found unresponsive in a bathtub and later succumbed.

The child was two days from her first birthday, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support the family with funeral expenses. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.

The impacts of extreme weather events, including monsoonal rains, can also be frequent causes of drowning.

“Our crews train and refresh every year for water rescue and are ready to respond to this type of emergency,” Pratt said.

But because most water sources in the Green Valley and Sahuarita areas are limited to community pools, Pratt said general safety tips tend to cover the ABCs of pool safety, which include:

•Adult supervision: Always have eyes on kids or be close enough to touch them. Designate a “water watcher” if in a large group, and institute the buddy system when swimming to avoid swimming alone.

•Barriers between children and water: DPCA recommends a five-foot fence around a pool and a pool gate with a latch to prevent unwanted or accidental access to a pool.

•Classes in CPR for adults and swim lessons for kids: Drowning victims have a much higher rate of survival if CPR is administered immediately. The American Red Cross offers a number of virtual and in-person training sessions year-round. 

•Coast Guard-approved personal floatation devices (PFDs) or life jackets: The devices allow the wearer to keep their head and mouth above water, thus preventing drowning. Arizona law requires all children under 12 wear a PFD while on a moving boat.

Pratt said GVFD has also responded to a number of minor incidents around pools, like falls or medical emergencies, and advised pool-goers to take special care with wearing appropriate footwear, understanding your medications and their effect on your abilities and limiting alcohol intake.

“We are fortunate to serve a mature population here in Green Valley, therefore the number of incidents is minimal, but that doesn’t mean that it should be ignored,” Pratt said.

For more information on how to prevent drownings and reduce water-related incidents, visit the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona at preventdrownings.org.

Mary Glen Hatcher | 520-547-9740

To highlight Drowning Impact Awareness Month, the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, along with Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona and TMC’s Safe Kids Pima County, is hosting a family-friendly Water Safety Expo.

The event is free and open to the public, and will feature an obstacle course, splash pad, water slide, free giveaways, and safety demonstrations and information from emergency responders.

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 20 (10 a.m. - noon)

WHERE: Manzanita Pool (5110 S. San Joaquin Avenue)

Mary Glen is a North Carolina native who's excited to explore the Tucson area through her reporting with Green Valley News. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2019.

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