WE ENVISION A TEXAS WHERE EVERYONE IS SAFE IN, ON, AND AROUND WATER.
One Texan drowns per day. Together, we’re working to change that.
The Texas Water Safety Coalition stands as a dedicated advocate for drowning prevention. By promoting education, legislative reforms, and community engagement, we stress that every drowning is preventable. Our initiatives aim to raise awareness about water safety and implement strategies that save lives in all Texas communities.
Drowning Prevention Through Collaboration
Coalitions bring together individuals and organizations with shared goals, combining their resources and expertise to achieve collective impact. In the case of water safety and drowning prevention, a strong and diverse coalition is critical to raising awareness, developing a statewide strategy, and advocating for policy changes that reduce fatal and non-fatal drownings.The Texas Water Safety Coalition was formed in 2023 towards ensuring that Texans are safe in, on, and around water.
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168 members
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100+ organizations represented
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A diverse membership representing every facet of water safety; including governmental agencies, swim schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations of families impacted by drowning, and aquatic service businesses
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Members reside in 56 different cities across the state
A LOOK AT TEXAS
Fatal Unintentional Drownings, Texas, 2006-2020
5,401
Texans died from unintentional drowning during the 15-year time period.
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On average, one Texan lost their life to drowning every day.
Compared to other states:
Texas had the
3
rd
highest
number of total deaths due to unintentional drowning.
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Texas had the 17th highest death rate, at 1.3 fatal drownings per 100,000 population.
The death rate for male Texans was
3x
as high as for female Texans.
In 2020, Texas had a higher total number of fatal drownings and higher death rate due to drowning than
14
all prior years.
Different types of water settings in Texas posed different levels of risk depending on age.
Infants under 1 year old
most often drowned while in bathtubs.
Children 1-4 and 5-14 years old
most often drowned while in swimming pools.
Teenagers 15 years and older
most often drowned while in natural waters.
Adults of all ages
most often drowned while in natural waters.
There were disparities in drowning risk based on race and ethnicity.
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Black Texans had a higher death rate compared to other races.
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Racial disparities in drowning death rates were larger for children than adults.
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Hispanic or Latino Texans had a lower death rate compared to Texans who are not Hispanic or Latino.
Young children were most at risk of drowning.
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Texas children 1-4 years old had the highest death rate from drowning of all age groups.
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Drowning was the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children 1-4 years old.
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Drowning killed more children 1-4 years old than birth defects, cancer, homicide, or heart disease.
Texas Strong. Drownings Gone.
Want to Join TWSC?
The Texas Water Safety Coalition works to reduce drownings in Texas and has a vision for a Texas where everyone is safe in, on and around all kinds of water. We are a group of over 250 individuals from a variety of water safety-related fields, such as pool maintenance, swim instruction, government agencies, nonprofits, hospitals, and many more. We all have a shared interest in reducing the burden of drowning throughout Texas by raising awareness, improving education, informing policy, leveraging data, and supporting all kinds of water safety professionals.
We are currently developing the first Texas Water Safety Strategy that will provide recommendations for improving water safety across the state. Membership is free and provides the option to attend quarterly online meetings and access to the google group where we periodically share water safety resources and opportunities. Join our growing network of water safety enthusiasts by filling out this form.