Going to Allatoona Lake For Labor Day? Wear Your Life Jacket

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It’s almost time to say goodbye to summer.

If you’ll be spending the weekend on or around the water this Labor Day, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District wants you to remember these safety tips:

• Before heading out for the lake or river, be sure you have a life jacket on hand for everyone. Make sure the life jackets are U.S. Coast Guard approved, the right size/fit and are appropriate for the activities you have planned.
• Then, please make sure everyone wears them. On average, 9 out of 10 people who drowned at USACE lake or river projects didn’t wear a life jacket. Life jackets save lives by keeping you afloat and providing time for rescue.
• If you plan to swim at a lake, please do so at a designated swim beach that is marked with abuoy line. Adults, plan to take turns being a water watcher and keep an eye on children when they are swimming. A child can drown in 20 seconds, so stay within arm’s reach while supervising them.
• Know your swimming ability. Each year, swimmers get into trouble swimming after a toy, a boat or some other object that drifts away. It’s not worth dying for to swim after the object. Let it go or put on a properly fitted life jacket and then retrieve the item.

Summer is ending, but you don’t have to let the fun end this Labor Day weekend. Please wear a life jacket to help ensure you return home alive and encourage your best buddy to wear one too.

For more information about recreating with USACE, visit the Mobile District’s website and click recreation to find a USACE lake project near you.

You can also go here to locate any USACE lake project in the U.S.

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Photo credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District Allatoona Lake’s Facebook page.