Officials urge water safety after 42 child drowning deaths in 5 years


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SALT LAKE CITY — With the unofficial start of summer arriving this Memorial Day weekend, Utah parents are being urged to keep their children within arm’s reach as they take to the water.

An above-average snowpack, wet spring and warming temperatures all increase the risk of drowning in the state’s lakes and rivers.

“We are urging the public to be extremely careful around any open bodies of water right now,” said Cambree Applegate, director of the Utah Department of Health’s Safe Kids Utah program. “With the spring runoff, water is moving fast and cold, and the risk of drowning is just too great, especially for children.”

“I had an older brother that almost drowned when we were at the beach,” said Utah resident Leandro Ramos.

That's one reason Leandro Ramos brought his two young children to Goldfish Swim School in South Jordan.

"It was scary," Ramos said. “But that's why it has been important to us."

He wants his kids to be comfortable in the water at the pool and when they go out boating this weekend.

"We're watching like a hawk,” he said. “They are right with us the whole time. We are always close when water is involved."

Utah resident Kim Davis agrees — her neighbor's child drowned at Lake Powell.

"It really hit close to home for me,” she said.

She did not grow up swimming and said she hasn't always been concerned about drowning.

"Prior to that, and I had not put my kids in swim lessons,” Davis said. “So yes, it was a really big wake up call to me to make sure that the kids learn how to swim."

Nationally, two-thirds of fatal drownings occur each year between May and August.

In Utah, drowning was the third-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 17 and under. Between 2011 and 2015, there were 42 drowning-related deaths of children in that age group. More than half of those drowning deaths occurred among children 4 years old or younger.

Data from the health department also show that approximately 43 percent of child drowning deaths over the past 10 years occurred in open bodies of water, while 30 percent of such deaths occurred in swimming pools. Children younger than 8 accounted for the majority of the deaths.

The department also found that 19 percent of child drowning deaths occurred in a bathtub, the majority of which were among infants less than a year old.

And new research conducted by the nonprofit organization Safe Kids Worldwide revealed several misconceptions that are giving families a false sense of security.

The survey found that almost half of parents think they would hear splashing or screaming if a child was drowning, but that’s not the case: Drowning is silent.

"So (parents) might turn away for a few minutes. They think, 'I'll turn away, but if something happens, I'm going to hear what's going on.' That's not the case. When somebody is drowning, they don't have the air capacity to be able to scream out for help,” Applegate said.

Tips for safe swimming

Parents are urged to actively supervise children when water is nearby and assign an adult to be a “water watcher” so everyone is clear who is watching the children at any given time.

Many parents also don’t realize drowning happens quickly. According to the survey, 1 in 3 parents say they have left their child unsupervised at a pool for two or more minutes. The survey notes that children who are proficient swimmers can still drown, especially in cold, rough waters.

Safe Kids Worldwide recommends parents make sure their child learns to swim and develops these five water survival skills:

  • Step or jump into the water over their heads.
  • Return to the surface, and float or tread water for one minute.
  • Turn around in a full circle and find an exit from the water.
  • Swim 25 yards to the exit.
  • Exit from the water. If in a pool, be able to exit without using the ladder.

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Jed Boal

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