Why National Water Safety Month is Important

May is one of our favorite months for not just the return of swim season but also because it’s National Water Safety Month. When you’re as passionate about pool safety as we are, it’s a holiday to keep circled on our calendars year after year. With accidental drowning taking, on average, around ten lives a day, this May is your opportunity to focus in on the avoidable hazards in your swimming pool area and do your part to prevent a tragedy by promoting safe swimming environments and practices.

A Growing Focus On Safe Water Practices

Starting as a mere week in 2003 sponsored by the World Waterpark Association, it didn’t take long for other organizations to see the life-saving potential of focusing on water safety just as temperatures were heating up and pools were opening after the long winter off. Starting in 2007, prompted by a partnership with the National Park and Recreation Association, the start of May marked the start of the very first National Water Safety Month. Soon joined by The American Red Cross and the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance, the coalition organizes events designed to promote awareness, encourage safe swimming, and actively educate people and organizations about what they can do to avoid becoming part of a troubling statistic.

Why We Still Need A Water Safety Month

As we approach the two-decade mark since the first water safety week, there’s still plenty of work to be done. In addition to fatal drownings, accidental drowning injuries cause thousands of emergency room visits per year, and there’s no way to know the number of medical visits caused by drowning that require a lower level of care or where the victims “tough it out” and don’t seek care afterward. This represents not just a huge toll on the families involved, but on their finances, the medical industry, and the economy, in the form of lost work and wages. Water safety month doesn’t just protect pool owners and swimmers, but all of us.

Doing Your Part

You can make this National Water Safety month the start of your own better habits in and around water. It’s important to understand that while it may occur in May, water safety is a year-round issue. What this month offers, however, is a wide range of resources to help you understand hazards, learn safer swimming practices, and brush up on your own at-home water safety equipment, training, and habits. Since the vast majority of accidental drownings among children still occur at their own homes, it’s the perfect place to start when finding ways to improve water safety.

Building A Pool For Drowning Prevention

Ensuring a safe swimming pool area is step one to preventing accidental drownings. That takes more than just keeping a lifesaver and long-handled pool net handy. It means mindfully creating a pool with the right safety features, emergency supplies, and equipment, then storing, stocking, and using them properly whether you’re actively swimming or not. 

• Barriers Prevent Unauthorized Access – Required by most communities, insurance carriers, and HOAs, swimming pool safety barriers act as a physical deterrent by helping to prevent unsupervised access to your swimming pool. Whether it’s a removable mesh pool fence that resists climbing, a swimming pool safety cover that can support the weight of a grown adult above the water, or a safety net that is meant to catch kids and pets before they can get too far from the edge, these barriers work to keep at-risk friends, family, and pets out of danger when there isn’t someone around to supervise the action.
  
  If you already have safety barriers in place, take the time needed to inspect them. Mesh material is durable and weather resistant, but Mother Nature and time will always come out on top. Ensure fabric, cables, and twine are pliable and unfrayed. Poles should be strong and well-anchored. If deck holes or sleeves are showing signs of wear, they may need to be reinforced or re-drilled. If you have any questions about the safety of your equipment or to order replacement parts, contact your local All-Safe Pool professional for help.

• Keep Up Your Maintenance – Whether you’re a beginner at swimming pool maintenance or an old pro, keeping your pool clean and your water healthy helps keep your swimmers safe and healthy. Aside from the immediate health impacts, it also gives you a chance to spot any damaged areas that could cause injury.
  
• Don’t Let Repairs Linger – When you spot something in need of repair, either as a minor issue you found during your regular maintenance or as something major you identified that threatens the integrity of your pool or the safety of your swimmers, contact a professional immediately. When it comes to safe swimming, putting off repairs or resorting to “good-enough” temporary fixes not only could put lives in danger, it could end up allowing damage to compound, and along with it, the cost of repair.
  
• Have The Tools Read To Save Lives – Long poles, flotation devices, first aid kits, and other safety equipment have their place–and that place should be clearly marked and close at hand in the pool area. This Water Safety Month, take the time to inspect these literal life-savers. Plastic and rubber should be checked for signs of weathering, drying, or cracking. First Aid kits need to have the expiration dates checked on all the contents and any missing pieces need to be replenished. Long poles should still be strong, and if they are telescoping, the mechanisms should still hold firm when tightened.
  
• Train Your Family In Safe Swimming Practices – The American Red Cross is part of the National Water Safety Month coalition for a reason–they are the water safety skill experts. Tens of thousands of children and adults every year learn to swim, perform CPR, and save lives as lifeguards under the tutelage of Red Cross instructors. Now it’s your turn. Classes are available locally, offer flexible pricing and scheduling, and during the month of May, many locations offer special packages, incentives, or pricing to get as many people as possible on board with improved water safety. 

Build A Safer Pool Area

We’re ready to help you protect your friends, family, and pets. When you schedule a free estimate with your local installer, they’ll take a look at your pool area and offer you a clear quote on your pool safety options. That way you understand just how affordable peace of mind can be, and have all the data you need to make an informed decision about your pool’s safety. Make your water safety mark this month. Schedule a visit with your All-Safe Pool safety expert today.