Ten people die daily from unintentional drowning, which ranks fifth among leading causes of unintentional injury and death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 10 who succumb to drowning, roughly two are 14 and younger while another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.

In Texas, drowning is a deep concern this summer as 35 children have died this year, accounting for nearly half of last year’s total of 75, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

In recognition of the Summer Safety Campaign – a Department of Defense-wide initiative from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend that targets on and off-duty risk management of summer activities – Scotty Johns, 502nd Air Base Wing occupational safety and health specialist, imparted water safety tips for adults and children with the goal of reducing water casualties this summer.

"We have had a lot of rain lately," he said, referring to the torrential down-pours that have flooded South Texas recently. "The currents are moving at a different pace and with flash floods you want to get out of the water be-cause you don’t know how fast water levels are going to rise. Lightning is also a killer."

"Also, be aware of your surroundings because there are critters out in water areas and they can jump off trees," he added.

According to the CDC, some of the factors that influence the drowning risk include:

• Lack of swimming ability among adults and children.

 • Lack of barriers such as pool fencing to prevent young children from accessing pool areas without supervision.

• Lack of close supervision; drownings can happen quickly and quietly anywhere there is water such as bath- tubs, swimming pools, buckets, and even in the presence of lifeguards.

• People of different ages drown in different locations. For example, most children ages 1-4 drown in home swimming pools. The percentage of drownings in natural water settings – including lakes, rivers and oceans – increases with age.

• Failure to wear life jackets. In 2010, 672 people died from drowning during a boating adventure. Eighty- eight percent were not wearing a life jacket.

• Alcohol use; 70 percent of water recreation deaths amongst adults and adolescents involved alcohol use.

• Seizure disorders; drowning is attributed as the most common cause of unintentional injury and death for people with seizure disorders. Johns stressed the importance of swim lessons and life jacket safety while discouraging alcohol use during water recreation.

"Drinking and swimming is bad news. Never drink and swim, period," he added. Even without drinking, some people struggle being in the water for various reasons like lack of boating knowledge or inability to swim. "All of our Joint Base San Antonio pools offer swim lessons," he said. "This is the perfect time to learn because the water is beginning to warm up. Also, JBSA Outdoor Recreation offers boating lessons if you want to rent a boat. Bottom line is, at some point you can get pressured to jump into a pool or go tubing. Most of people are not going to admit they can’t swim, but will go along with it and perhaps put on a life vest or not.

Swimming lessons, which are $65 per session, and offered to youth ages 3 and up. JBSA-Lackland Skylark Aquatics Center offers classes Tuesday through Friday and JBSA Randolph South Pool offers lessons from 8-11 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays while JBSA-Fort Sam Houston offers them Monday through Friday.

For more information, call the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Aquatic Center, located at building 3300 on Winans Road, at 221-4887; Skylark Aquatics Center, building 6482, at 671-2413; and JBSA Randolph South Pool, building 980 next to the Rambler Fitness Center, at 652-2053.

The JBSA Canyon Lake Recreation Park, located at 698 Jacobs Creek Park Road, Canyon Lake, Texas, offers a boating safety class weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. It is open to all Department of Defense ID cardholders. Call 830-964-3576 or 800- 280-3466 for more information.

The JBSA-Lackland Outdoor Adventure Center offers a 95-minute course on basic boating procedures Mondays and Thursdays at 1 p.m., and Tuesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. Call 925-5532 for more information.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife-sanctioned boater’s safety course is offered daily Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at JBSA-Randolph Community Services Mall, building 895, in Outdoor Recreation. The cost for the course is $2 per person and takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete. Call 652-5142, option two, to sign up.