Swimsafe partners celebrated a third drown-free summer this year, but they are not resting. The partner agencies are meeting Thursday, October 8 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Bonney Lake Justice Center, at 9002 Main St E, in Bonney Lake, to plan continued efforts to prevent future tragedies.

The multi-faceted drowning prevention campaign, known as Swimsafe, was created after three people drowned on Lake Tapps during the summer of 2012. City, county, school and community partners joined forces to help improve the safety of swimmers and boaters who enjoy recreation on the popular lake and other area waterways.

“We have lots of exciting information to share with the group about this summer’s drowning prevention efforts, progress made over the last year and strategies for future projects,”  said East Pierce Public Education Specialist Dina Sutherland. “We will also have a special presentation from Sound Ocean Systems on the water temperature buoy/display prototype they’ve developed. This will be the only meeting this year, so we really hope that the media can attend.”

Swimsafe partner agencies include:

– East Pierce Fire and Rescue

– Bonney Lake Police Department

– Pierce County Sheriff’s Department

– Pierce County Council

– Pierce County Parks

– City of Bonney Lake

– Cascade Water Alliance

– Sumner School District

– Dieringer School District

– Sumner- Bonney Lake Aquatics Center

– Washington State Parks

– Sumner YMCA

– Sound Ocean Systems