Melissa Sutton, President of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona
I looked through the lens of our Maricopa County Sheriff's Office - Lake Patrol yesterday for 12 hours. I cannot sing their praises enough for the work they are doing in public safety, but specifically drowning prevention.
The morning began on their air boat for a trip up and down the river. Things that were exciting to see: Many "private" equipment (meaning it was not a rental) SUP and kayak owners donned their life jackets - yea! ... but not all - Boo! 100% of the pet owners had their dogs in life jackets. I loved seeing that! Where the problem was... the rentals. It was a rare sighting for a life jacket on that group - EVEN the KIDS! Unfortunately, the way the laws are written in Arizona, there is no violation. Looks like I know where to start on the education! The Sheriff's office has encouraged the tube rental place to carry life jackets, which they now do... looks like I might have to bridge that knowledge gap.
When we first arrived at Saguaro Lake, we saw the Game and Fish folks roll up to re-stock the life jackets for the Life Jacket Loaner Station - Woo Hoo! Filling it up for the holiday weekend - Yea! So cool to see that spectacularly collaborative effort still going strong!
The MCSO Sherrif's office do such a great on patrolling that area - the river, lake and roads. So much that when I was on the Lake Patrol boat on Saguaro Lake, there were no citations given the three hours while I was aboard their vessel. A few warnings for minor things, but they have such a presence, people know to not screw around and make good choices.
However, there were still FAR too many overly inebriated folks getting off the river. I took video of a guy who couldn't even get out of the water without his friends helping him (and there were more than just that one guy). Of course, no life jacket. He would be dead if he were to be caught in a current and swept away from his group. More education needed there...
After I left the lake, I got to put on my hiking pack (yep - brought 6 liters of water with me and my slightly-more-advanced First Aid kit... it was 106 out there!), hike in and help rescue a couple who got their Jeep stuck in a (dry) wash. PSA: Hiking in flip flops in the desert is NOT recommended... nor taking your brand-new, stock Jeep in to an area like that.
When I left at nearly 8:00pm last night, there were ZERO drownings (on the river or lakes - don't know about our pools yet), ZERO DUI's from the area I was in, and only one OUI (Apache Lake - I wasn't out on that lake that day). These guys and gals are doing an excellent job. Thank a cop today, if you see one - you should - they are everywhere, keeping us all safe this holiday weekend!
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