Water Safety in Texas

Texas has a long Gulf coast, big lakes and rivers, and fast-rising floods. At the beach, swim where there are lifeguards when you can, and know that many beaches have none. On lakes and rivers, wear a life jacket. And in a flood, never drive or walk into moving water. Anyone born on or after September 1, 1993 needs a boater education course before driving most motorboats.

Texas drowning and boating numbers

59 to 27

• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 174 reportable recreational boating incidents in Texas in 2024, with 27 deaths and 128 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 59 in 2020, 58 in 2021, 34 in 2022, 33 in 2023 and 27 in 2024.
• Drowning: CDC puts Texas's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.44 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), above the U.S. rate of 1.31.
• Coast: NOAA lists 3,359 miles of official shoreline (opens in a new tab) for Texas, following its bays and tidal rivers.
• Boats: 552,138 registered vessels in 2024.

CDC counts drowning deaths of residents; the Coast Guard counts boating incidents. See our Texas data page.

Gulf beaches

At Padre Island National Seashore, the National Park Service says there are no lifeguards at the national seashore; swim at your own risk (opens in a new tab). Strong currents flowing parallel to the beach, tides flowing to and from the beach, and sudden drop-offs in the ocean floor can be hazardous for swimmers and waders alike. The park uses a beach warning flag system for rip currents. Never swim alone. Learn the flags in beach warning flags and the escape steps in rip currents.

Water quality. The Texas General Land Office's Texas Beach Watch (opens in a new tab) program posts water quality information for selected recreational beaches in Aransas, Brazoria, Cameron, Galveston, Harris, Jefferson, Matagorda, Nueces and San Patricio counties. It tests for enterococcus bacteria, which changes with the season, site and weather. The GLO notes that it does not test for any other bacteria, including the vulnificus bacteria (opens in a new tab), so a good result doesn't rule out every risk. Read is the water safe to swim in? for more on water quality.

Floods

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, don't drown. Never drive or walk into floodwater. See flash flood safety.

Lakes, rivers and state parks

Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) offers swimming from spring-fed rivers to Texas-sized lakes (opens in a new tab). Parks may temporarily close swimming areas because of drought or flooding, so check with the park before you go.

At Amistad National Recreation Area on the Rio Grande, the Park Service says there are no lifeguards (opens in a new tab) and recommends that everyone, especially children and people with little or no swimming experience, wear a life jacket in and around the water and along shorelines. Read river safety.

Texas boating rules

From TPWD:

• Boater education: a TPWD-certified boater education course and a valid photo ID are required for anyone born on or after September 1, 1993 (opens in a new tab) to operate a vessel with a motor over 15 horsepower, or a windblown vessel over 14 feet.
• Young operators: to operate a personal watercraft, or a motorboat over 15 horsepower, a person must be at least 13 and have completed the course, or be supervised on board by someone 18 or older who can legally operate the boat.
• Children: federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab).

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check TPWD before you go.

What you can do today

• Check Texas Beach Watch before a Gulf beach day.
• At beaches without lifeguards, never swim alone and keep children within reach.
• Make a family rule: never drive into a flooded road.
• Take TPWD's boater education course if you were born on or after September 1, 1993.
• Find swim lessons with our guide to finding swim lessons.