Swim Safety Updates Coming To Worcester After Drownings

WORCESTER, MA — Two weeks after a double-drowning at Green Hill Park that claimed the life of a Worcester police officer and a 14-year-old swimmer, the city parks department will soon begin installing new safety features near bodies of water.

As soon as next week, the parks department will begin putting up signs at places where swimming isn't allowed — from the pond at Green Hill Park to Elm Park and even the shallow pond at University Park — warning of danger. The signs will be universal, bearing an image of a swimmer with a red line through it, officials have said.

As of Thursday, the pond at Green Hill Park where Officer Enmanuel Familia and swimmer Troy Love drowned on June 4 had one no-swimming sign tucked against a wall of rocks. The shore area near where Love and Familia drowned had signs warning of thin ice and not to feed water fowl, but none about swimming.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. had requested the signs be added following the drownings.

Separately, the Worcester City Council this week sent an order to Augustus asking for "a safety flotation device and rope alongside appropriate signage at each of the city’s bodies of water." The order, sent by At-Large Councilor Kate Toomey, also asks for a report on dangerous conditions at each body of water in the city.

Augustus has also said some Worcester police officers purchased flotation devices after Familia's death to keep in their patrol cars.

Worcester is planning to open city beaches and splash pads around July 1, although the entire state is facing a lifeguard shortage. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation will have lifeguards at the Regatta Point beach and Lake Park at Lake Quinsigamond State Park starting June 19.