Water safety event in Chandler hopes to foil preventable drownings

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Summer is approaching and kids are diving back into public pools like the one at Hamilton Aquatic Center in Chandler.

The city is reopening three pools this weekend by hosting a water safety walk on Saturday.

Chandler hosts water safety event to prevent drownings

The city of Chandler is hosting an event called Water You Doing to help bring awareness to preventable drownings and improve water safety in the community. FOX 10's Dominique Newland has more.

"We select a neighborhood that might have had a previous incident where we've had some drownings and the community helps us spread the word about watching your kids around water," Chandler Battalion Chief Blas Minor said.

Chandler introduces the Water You Doing campaign

The Water You Doing campaign, put on by the city of Chandler will have city aquatics, fire and police personnel present to teach families CPR and educate them about the importance of supervision.

"Our lifeguards are a second layer of defense," Jessica Chamberlain, Chandler's Aquatics Supervisor said. "The more eyes on the kids the better. It happens fast and with silence, not like in the movies."

Officials say drownings are preventable, but avoiding tragedies requires supervision and having barriers like fences built around pools.

Why is this event important?

Chandler Fire said they are seeing an uptick in calls.

"When it starts to warm up, children want to get in there and adults are still not in that mode of watching their kids around water," Chamberlain said.

The water safety walk is open to the public and starts at 8 a.m.