May is Drowning Prevention/Water Safety Month
May 1, 2026
May is Drowning Prevention/Water Safety Month
May is National Water Safety Month and Pools, Water Parks, Spray Pads are opening for the summer. Drowning is #1 killer of children ages 1-4 and #1 cause of death in Autistic children.
Last year, Texas had 88 fatal child drownings and El Paso had 0. So far this year Texas has had 10 fatal drownings.
Most drownings occur in areas without Lifeguards such as backyard pools, hotel pools, apartment pools, rivers, lakes, ponds and bathtubs.
The Drowning Prevention Coalition held their annual Media Day on Drowning Prevention on April 30,2026 at the Westside Aquatics Center at 10 am. Media attendees included:
KVIA, KTSM, KFOX, Univision, Telemundo, El Paso Times, El Diario, and El Paso Matters. The DPC thanks them for helping spread the word about preventing drownings. It takes a community working together to “Respect the Water” to prevent fatal drownings. Safety in and around the water should be our #1 priority. Children need a parent or “Water Watcher” that constantly watches the water area without any distractions such as talking on phone and reading.
DPC Members in attendance were: El Paso Fire Water Rescue, City of El Paso Aquatics, County Aquatics, UMC Trauma, Wet N Wild Waterworld, YWCA, El Paso Water, and Mascots Gus, Goldie, and Freddie the Frog. Thank you DPC members for your dedication and commitment to prevent drownings in the El Paso area.
