Yuma water safety alliance urges layers of protection against drownings

Backyard pools, open canals and irrigation ditches are the places Yuma County families are most likely to face danger as summer starts, and local health leaders say the first defense is layered protection at home. The Greater Yuma Water Safety Alliance is using National Water Safety Month to press families to lock down access points, add alarms and keep children under close, constant and capable supervision, because 70% of child drownings happen when a pool or spa is not actively being used.

The alliance, formed in the fall of 2023, is now in its third year of a countywide campaign that includes the City of Yuma, Yuma County, San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Prison Hill Liquid Foundation, Onvida Health, Exceptional Community Hospital - Yuma, Regional Center for Border Health and Sunset Health. City officials said the message is meant to match local habits and local risk, where a backyard pool can be just as dangerous as a canal or ditch that runs behind a neighborhood or near a family home.

The guidance goes well beyond a general warning. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance’s Five Layers of Protection calls for barriers, alarms and direct supervision, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends four-sided fencing that fully separates the pool from the home and other structures and stands at least 48 inches tall. Officials also warned families not to overlook doggie doors and pet doors that can give a child access to the water. Alarm options include gate alarms, surface and underwater alarms, perimeter alarms and wearable child alarms that activate when wet. Yuma Fire Department Public Information Officer Francisco Leon said barriers, alarms and supervision each play an important role in water safety.

The need is sharp in Arizona and in Yuma County. The Yuma County Health District is offering scholarships for 73 free swim lessons for children ages 6 months to 5 years, bringing the three-year total to 298 free lessons. Statewide, Arizona’s child fatality review program reported 44 drowning deaths among children in 2021, with 68% among children ages 1 to 4, and said the drowning death rate doubled from 2020 to 2021. The review program also found that 410 of 863 child deaths in Arizona that year were preventable. Melissa Hull, whose 4-year-old son Drew drowned in an irrigation canal near their Yuma County home in 2000, has pointed to more than 220 miles of open irrigation systems in the county, a reminder that the danger stretches far beyond the pool deck.

Families can still act now. Water Safety Day is set for June 6 at Valley Aquatic Center, with a pre-pool party from 8 to 10 a.m. and free public swimming from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and monthly water safety workshops with Onvida Health are limited to 30 participants per class.