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Drowning threats resurface as weather gets warmer

Higher temperatures are on the way, and few activities are better at beating the heat than going for a swim.

But for all of the fun water can provide, it inevitably brings tragedies to the region each year.

Since 2000, 23 people have died in drownings in public waterways and another 11 have died in pools, according to the coroner's offices of Richmond and Aiken counties.

Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins could provide data for only the past two years, which included two drownings in lakes, and one in a pool.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park ranger Christina Westerberg said last week that 34 drownings have been recorded at Lake Thurmond since 2000. That doesn't include the death of a Nicholson, Ga., man on Tuesday, which was the third drowning this year.

Westerberg and Georgia Department of Natural Resources Ranger Leroy Ficklin said nonswimmers occasionally run into problems with the uneven bottom at the lake, and the ability to swim doesn't always prevent tragedies.

"We have some folks that try to swim across coves and things like that," said Rusty Welsh, the deputy director of emergency management for Columbia County, who works with the county's volunteer dive team. "I think folks need to be aware of what's out there and know their limitations."

Ficklin said the use of life jackets that fit is a top priority, and Westerberg said she's seen improvements since the lake began its life jacket loaner program in 2008, which makes them available in various swim areas.

Another risk is drugs and alcohol, although Ficklin said alcohol was associated with only one of 22 boating incidents from 2005-2010. Over that period, the Georgia DNR has issued 32 BUIs, which Ficklin said is down significantly from when he started patrolling the lake in 1996.

But even staying away from open waters won't guarantee safe swimming, especially for small children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates about 300 U.S. children under age 5 drown in swimming pools each year.

Just three weeks ago, a 4-year-old Grovetown boy drowned in a pool at his home.

Richmond County Sheriff's office Col. Gary Powell said one of the biggest problems is a lack of parental supervision.

To help combat that problem, the CPSC recommends alarms in and around the pool, in addition to fences at least four feet high and drains that meet safety standards.

With a 21-month-old grandchild of his own, Powell said he's not taking any chances.

"If you want to go all out, I'm going to put a video system on (my pool)," he said. "They're real reasonable nowadays and that would be ideal, I think."