With summer officially in full swing, folks are getting out and hitting the water. While it is fun, it can be dangerous. A three year old Clarke County boy drowned over the weekend. Officials said the child was swimming in a no swim zone unsupervised before drowning. However, the lifeguards over at Geyser Falls Water Park shared some water safety tips and how they are trained to keep you and your family safe.
Safety is the number one priority at the Water Park.
Thousands of people pack into Mississippi’s largest water park every summer, going down slides, relaxing in the lazy river and playing in the giant wave pool. Because of the high number of guests, lead lifeguard Brant Lowery said it is important lifeguards always pay close attention.
“We go through a week’s worth of training where we learn CPR and how to recognize a victim that will need saving or rescuing in the water. We’ve been taught to recognize a victim that might need saving, someone who is at high risk,” said Lowery.
Lowery said it’s their training that has made him confident they can handle just about any situation and make the park safe and fun for guests.
“Our supervisors, who are trained by NASCO, National Aquatic Safety Company, train us and within that week and throughout the whole season we get trained on how to recognize a victim who might need saving. We put full faith in our supervisors who teach us how to get rescue ready,” said Lowery.
Lowery said even if your confident in your child’s swimming abilities, the park encourages all children under 16 to have an adult supervising them at all times.
“Well we have life jacket stands stationed throughout the park and we have height requirements for all the rides. We have slides that are require you to be 48 inches and if you’re not 48 inches you’ll have to go down the slide for 42 inches. It’s just for your safety. We want people to leave the same way they came in,” said Lowery.
All this Lowery says helps keep the park safe year after year.
