DPR Customer Service: (202) 673-7647
DPR/Aquatics Director: James Washington, (202) 714-5066, [email protected]
DPR Media Contacts: Gwendolyn Crump (202) 288-6027, [email protected]

(Washington, DC) - The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Aquatics Division will be hosting a “Water Safety Awareness Workshop” in honor of International Water Safety Day on Monday, May 15, 2017 beginning at 4:00pm at various Aquatic Centers throughout the District of Columbia. Participants can register either online via our registration system or in person at any recreation center. Online registration will end Sunday, May 14, 2017, early registration is highly recommended.

This event is free to the public and instructors will be available for all age ranges. This is family friendly event and parents are encouraged to attend with their children from infants to teenagers.

Water Safety Day is a day to spread drowning awareness and water safety education all over the world. The World Health Organization reports that that every hour, every day, more than 40 people lose their lives to drowning, totaling 372,000 people. Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7 percent of all injury related deaths. The greatest risk for drowning fatalities are to those under the age of 5 years old and over half of all drowning deaths occur in populations under 25 years old.

There are many precautions that can be taken to provide a safe swimming environment to curb the rates of drowning. Learning to swim alone does not prevent the risk of drowning and research shows that increased water safety can greatly lower the risk of drowning. The Water Safety Awareness Workshop is DPR’s commitment to raising awareness on this internationally observed event.

For additional information about the Water Safety Awareness Workshop, including how to become a certified Lifeguard with DPR, please call 202-671-1289.

About DPR

The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) provides quality urban recreation and leisure services for residents and visitors to the District of Columbia. DPR supervises and maintains area parks, community facilities, swimming pools and spray parks, and neighborhood recreation centers. The agency also coordinates a wide variety of recreation and educational programs including sports leagues, youth development, therapeutic recreation, aquatic programming, outdoor adventure, camping, and senior citizen activities. Adaptive programs and facilities are available for persons with disabilities.