ROANOKE, Va. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports 70% of pool drownings among children under 15 happen in residential settings and that number increases to 85% for children under five.
On World Drowning Prevention Day, Virginia health officials are urging parents to act.
“Drowning can occur in any amount of water as little as two inches and can happen in as short of a time period as 60 seconds,” said Rachel Dumene, Central Shenandoah Health District spokesperson.
In Virginia, nine children under five have drowned in pools this year, compared to just three in 2024. It’s the highest number the state has seen in at least five years, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
“You want to have proper protective gear around your pool, structures, fences, gates that have a latch on them, alarm systems that go off when someone enters your pool area,” Dumene said. “Of course, you want to get your children in swimming lessons as soon as possible.”
Dumene also emphasized the importance of “touch supervision,” which means staying within arm’s reach of young children near water and removing distractions like phones or books.
In Roanoke, the Botetourt Family YMCA also encourages swimming lessons and water safety.
“Never jump in the water after someone who’s drowning if you don’t have the training,” said Matthew Reedy, Aquatics Director at the Botetourt Family YMCA. “If you need to, find an object that you can reach out to them or another object that’ll float. If you’re out at a lake or river, throw a lifejacket, a rope, a branch from a tree, anything works but ‘reach, throw, never go.’”
Reedy says jumping in without the proper training just puts another person in danger. “We offer training here. Lifeguard training, CPR training, first aid training, all those things are beneficial,” he said.
Health officials stress even if children know how to swim, they should never be unsupervised around water, whether it’s a lake, pool, or river.
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