Water Safety in Arizona

For Arizona families, water safety starts at home. The Arizona Department of Health Services says drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in the state, and its advice is the ABCDs: Adult supervision, Barriers, Classes and Devices. State law also requires a pool fence at homes where young children live.

On Arizona's big desert lakes, the risks change: open water, wind, boat traffic and no lifeguards.

Arizona drowning and boating numbers

1.42 per 100,000

• Children: ADHS reports that in Arizona, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four years old and the second leading cause of unintentional injury for children ages five to fourteen (opens in a new tab).
• All ages: CDC puts Arizona's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.42 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), in the second-highest band on its map.
• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 97 reportable recreational boating incidents in Arizona in 2024, with 11 deaths and 79 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 10 in 2020, 13 in 2021, 13 in 2022, 9 in 2023 and 11 in 2024.

CDC counts drowning deaths of Arizona residents; the Coast Guard counts all deaths in reported boating incidents. They are separate measures. More context is on our Arizona data page.

The ABCDs of drowning prevention

ADHS teaches four steps:

• A, Adult supervision. Drownings are lightning fast and are often silent (opens in a new tab). Watch without distractions such as reading, phones or alcohol. Name a Water Watcher every time.
• B, Barriers. Pool fences with self-closing, self-latching gates, and pool covers, keep children from reaching water on their own.
• C, Classes. Swim lessons for children, water safety education for everyone, and CPR and first aid for adults. ADHS suggests checking with your local town or city (opens in a new tab) for classes.
• D, Devices. Use life jackets for children who cannot swim when in open water.

ADHS also reminds families that toilets and mop buckets (opens in a new tab) can be drowning hazards for young children, not just pools.

Arizona's pool fence law

Arizona's Residential Pool Safety Notice explains A.R.S. § 36-1681. At a home with a pool where one or more children under 6 live, unless a local code says otherwise, the enclosure must entirely enclose the pool area, be at least 5 feet high (opens in a new tab), have no openings a 4-inch object can pass through, have no handholds or footholds on the outside, and stand at least 20 inches from the water's edge.

Gates in the enclosure must open outward from the pool, be self-closing and self-latching (opens in a new tab), with the latch at least 54 inches above the ground (or locked with a key or combination). The notice describes other options when the house forms part of the barrier.

ADHS also recommends that a child is always watched in the pool area, because flotation devices and swimming lessons are not substitutes for supervision (opens in a new tab), and that CPR instructions, the 911 number and a phone are kept at the pool. Check your own fence with our pool fence and gate guide.

Lakes Mead, Mohave and Powell

At Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the National Park Service says pool toys are prohibited at Lakes Mead and Mohave (opens in a new tab) because they contribute to drownings and rescues, and visitors can be fined. There are no lifeguards or designated swim beaches (opens in a new tab), and children swimming should wear life jackets. The park has a free life jacket loaner program.

Two warnings from the park stand out: many persons who drown never intended to enter the water (opens in a new tab), and distances to islands and buoys are easily underestimated.

At Lake Powell, in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, summer water can surpass 80 degrees (opens in a new tab), but there are still no lifeguards. Swimming is banned at marinas and launch areas because electrical faults from vessels or docks can electrocute swimmers (opens in a new tab). Read electric shock drowning before you swim near a dock.

Floodwater

Desert storms can send fast water across roads and washes. The National Weather Service says over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water (opens in a new tab). Turn around. See flash flood safety.

Boating education in Arizona

We could not confirm Arizona's boater education rules on an official page, because the Arizona Game and Fish Department site blocked our checks. Read the AZGFD boating education page (opens in a new tab) before you go. Whatever the rule, a course is a good idea, and federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab).

What you can do today

• Walk your pool fence: 5 feet high, no climbable handholds, and a gate that swings shut and latches on its own.
• Remove pool toys from your lake packing list and pack life jackets instead.
• Post CPR instructions and 911 by your pool, and keep a phone there.
• Sign up for swim lessons with your city or town, or use our guide to finding swim lessons.
• Learn CPR. Our guide where to learn CPR shows how.