Drownings Prompt HoCo Executive Ball To Address Water Safety

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — To hit home the importance of water and swimming safety, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball hosted a special event at Centennial Park to help educate everyone and to address three recent water safety incidents.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our indoor and outdoor pools, leading more residents to seek out natural bodies of water to swim in this summer,” Ball said in a statement. “Howard County paramedics have responded to three potential drownings in the past month alone. We want to ensure our community has the information and resources to keep their families safe when recreating this summer and beyond. In an effort to ensure all our residents are healthy and thriving, we’re also working with our community partners to distribute safety guidelines to various populations and are making them available in multiple languages.”

Howard County has more than 2,000 acres of water and is home to several hundred miles of stream and creeks that feed into the Patapsco and Patuxent rivers. Swimming is prohibited in many of these natural bodies of water throughout the county, due to environmental and safety hazards such as no lifeguards on duty, debris that can trap a swimmer, bacteria in the water that can sicken a swimmer and water currents that can overtake a swimmer.

Officials also highlighted the risks of swimming in any water and encouraged residents to never swim alone, always watch children in and around water, and to always enter unknown or shallow water feet first.

"Recreation & Parks owns and maintains one indoor pool, the Roger Carter Community Center Pool in Ellicott City," said recreation and parks director Raul Delerme. "We are tentatively reopening this pool to the public for limited hours starting this coming Monday, July 6. Our pool offers swimming lessons year-round to true beginners to those looking to perfect a stroke through a clinic. I invite all of you to check out our well-run classes, programs, camps, and fitness opportunities to stay healthy and safe."

Dr. Maura Rossman, Howard County health officer, reminded that people should keep an eye on children, swim with a buddy and to make sure the water is clean and safe for swimming.

“It is prohibited to swim in Howard County’s lakes, rivers, and ponds due to the inherent risk of drowning or infection,” said Howard County Fire Chief William Anuszewski. “Far too often, we respond to water rescues during the summer months for emergencies that could have been prevented. Please stay safe this summer and abide by all postings around our natural bodies of water.”