{"id":3557,"date":"2022-07-08T09:20:18","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T16:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/?p=3557"},"modified":"2023-06-26T13:26:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T20:26:49","slug":"its-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/2022\/07\/08\/its-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s cold!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At the start of a recent meeting, each participant was asked \u201cWhat is one of your favorite summer activities?\u201d\u00a0 I told the group one of my favorites is hearing my granddaughters squeal with delight when riding on a tube being pulled behind our boat!\u00a0 Even at their young age, they enjoy the bouncing and thrill of going fast \u2013 well, not too fast.\u00a0 However, their dad knows what could happen.\u00a0 He is on the tube with them – and everyone is wearing life jackets.\u00a0 So, they get the thrill, and he keeps them safe.<\/p>\n

Our waters are one of the things that make our home so special. And enjoying them on a paddle board, in a kayak, on a tube, or in a boat is the best part of the summer for many of us.<\/p>\n

Even when it\u2019s hot outside, our local waters stay very cold.\u00a0 So cold, in fact, that swimmers in our lakes and the Sound can suffer from what\u2019s known as \u201ccold water shock.\u201d That is, your body reacts badly to the sudden temperature change.\u00a0 Swimmers can quickly lose their ability to swim or even breathe.<\/p>\n

Sadly, we lose people to drownings nearly every summer as they jump in the water to have fun and \u201cbeat the heat\u201d – 34 have died in the last five years. To help prevent this, Pierce County Parks partnered with jurisdictions from around the region to produce a social media campaign to warn our residents of the dangers of cold-water shock.\u00a0 Our goal is zero drownings!<\/p>\n