USACE shares water safety tips for Labor Day holiday weekend

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Aug 18 2015 11:06 AM

MOBILE, Ala. – It’s almost time to say goodbye to summer. If you’ll be spending the weekend on or
around the water this Labor Day, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District urges you to
remember these safety tips:
1. Before heading out for the lake or river, be sure you have a life jacket on hand for everyone.
Make sure the life jackets are U.S. Coast Guard approved; the right size/fit; and are appropriate
for the activities you have planned. Then, please make sure everyone wears them. On average,
9 out of 10 people who drowned at USACE lake or river projects didn’t wear a life jacket. Life
jackets save lives by keeping you afloat and providing time for rescue.
2. If you plan to swim at a lake, please do so at a designated swim beach that is marked with a
buoy line. Adults, plan to take turns being a “water watcher” and keep an eye on children when
they are swimming. A child can drown in 20 seconds so stay within arm’s reach while
supervising them.
3. Know your swimming ability. Each year, swimmers get into trouble swimming after a toy, a boat
or some other object that drifts away. It’s not worth dying for to swim after the object. Let it go or
put on a properly fitted life jacket and then retrieve the item.
Summer is ending, but you don’t have to let the fun end this Labor Day weekend. Please wear a life
jacket to help ensure you return home alive and encourage your best buddy to wear one too.
USACE is the nation’s largest federal provider of outdoor water-based recreation, managing more
than 420 lake and river projects in 43 states and hosting more than 370 million visits per year. With
90 percent of these recreation areas within 50 miles of metropolitan areas, they provide a diverse
range of outdoor activities close to home for people of all ages.
For more information about recreating with USACE, visit www.sam.usace.army.mil and click recreation
to find a Mobile District-managed USACE lake project near you; or go to
http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/visitors.cfm to locate any USACE lake project in the U.S.

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