Summer can be cool if we all follow the rules

Recent drowning deaths on Long Island have prompted local officials to focus on water safety at our beaches, bays and public pools and to remind private pool owners of regulations already in place. Beachgoers who swim near lifeguards, pool patrons who follow the rules and residents who make their own pools secure will minimize the risks for themselves and others this summer.

The Town of Hempstead recently launched a summer pool safety campaign, beginning with a demonstration of pool alarms, which are required for any town residence with a pool. Such an alarm, when set, will go off whenever someone enters the pool. The idea here is to prevent small children from wandering near the water without supervision, and potentially falling in. The devices cost about $200.

In addition, parents should keep an eye on their children at all times. If you discover that a child is missing near a pool, check the water first. Every second counts, and it only takes a couple of seconds for a child to fall into deep water.

And then there’s the ocean, whose variety of potential dangers make it imperative that beachgoers take safety seriously. The most well-known risk associated with swimming in the ever-changing ocean is of being caught in a rip current, a powerful flow of water away from shore that can sweep even strong swimmers into deep water. It is imperative that swimmers recognize when they are in rip currents and be able to work their way out of them.

Last week, in a demonstration at Town Park Point Lookout, town officials explained that swimmers who get caught in rip currents tend to panic and swim hard toward shore. This may seem like the obvious course of action, but it isn’t; fighting the current is futile, and can result in a swimmer’s being pulled even farther from shore, continuing to panic, quickly becoming exhausted and possibly drowning.