Tips to Stay Safe In and Around the Water this Summer

While summer may not officially start until June, the unofficial start of summer—Memorial Day weekend, also when most pools open for the season, is almost here. Prince William County Parks and Recreation wants you and your loved ones to have a safe and fun summer in and around the water. May is also National Water Safety Month, making it a great time to review safety tips and reminders to teach everyone to respect the water and be smart when swimming.

While all of our pools and water parks have highly-trained lifeguards on duty, it is still important for both children and adults to learn to swim.

“It is so important to learn how to swim because those skills can save your life or someone else’s,” says Prince William County Parks’ Water Safety Instructor, Aniyah Henderson. 

According to the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, there are over 4500 unintentional drowning deaths each year, and drowning is the single leading cause of death for children ages 1-4, and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5-14. Drowning is fast and silent and can happen in as little as 20-60 seconds.

In addition to knowing how to swim, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Pool Safely” website recommends that you always supervise children in or near water—never leave them unattended. Learning CPR is also recommended. To view more of their safety tips click here.

Know Before You Go
Prince William County Parks’ community pools and water parks will open Saturday, May 24 . We have three outdoor community pools, plus Veterans Park pool which is an outdoor pool with a twisting waterslide, and two water parks—Waterworks Waterpark and SplashDown Waterpark. 

Within our pools and water park facilities, we also have certain rules and policies that are enforced in an effort to maintain a clean, safe and inviting environment for our patrons. Please note the following rules for all of our pools and water parks:

* Proper swim attire is required in all pools.  Clothing, other than swimwear, can create problems with water clarity, disinfectant systems and filtration. Prince William County Parks and Recreation staff have the right to deny anyone use of pools for non-approved swimwear.

* You will not be permitted to swim unless you are in a bathing suit. T-shirts, cut-off shorts, sport shorts, or women’s undergarments DO NOT constitute proper swimming attire. There are NO exceptions to this rule.

* At both water parks, no outside food or snacks are allowed inside the water parks.

* Guests are allowed to bring one (1) unopened 20 oz. bottle of water per guest into the water park. 

* Guests may bring baby food, formula and milk but only in plastic containers.

* Outside food and beverages are permitted at community pools.

We encourage you to review complete rules as well as answers to frequently asked questions about our water parks before your visit. Please visit the respective websites for SplashDown and Waterworks. You can also view hours of operation, pricing, scheduled events and more. For more information on our outdoor community pools, click here.

Prince William County Parks wishes you an enjoyable and safe summer pool season! We hope to see you this summer!