PUBLISHED 5/13/08 ----

Eighty-degree days are here, which means 90-degree days are right around the corner. And that means people, especially kids, will be drawn to water.

Sadly, almost inevitably, that means drownings.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed May “Drowning Prevention Month,” and the declaration is not empty words. His proclamation marks the launch of a six-month effort by the California Department of Developmental Services to raise awareness about the  risks that can lead to childhood drowning accidents.

 Kern County has had its share of drowning accidents. The toll was particularly grim in 2007, with the number of drownings almost doubling from the previous year. Kern had 20 drownings last year — including just two in the Kern River, which usually accounts for many more.

Last year, residential settings were deadlier than rivers, lakes and canals. Seven people died in home swimming pools, three in bathtubs, and two in spas.

Bakersfield has already had one pool drowning and a near-drowning involving very young children this spring.

More than 4,000 children under age 5 drown every year in swimming pools nationwide, and another 2,725 children end up in hospital emergency rooms after almost drowning.

The California Department of Developmental Services cares for 710 survivors of near-drowning accidents, most of them severely disabled with irreversible brain damage caused by being underwater and without oxygen.

Virtually all cases are preventable. Some tips:

• Keep a constant eye on young children playing in or near any body of water, public pool, or bathtub. A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the telephone. Never leave a child alone near water, even for a few seconds.

 • Designate an adult to watch children at play at large gatherings.

 • Fence your pool on all four sides with a barrier that is at least five feet high, and move chairs and other potential climbing aids away from fences to eliminate the temptation for kids to climb over.

• Pool gates should be self-closing and self-latching, opening outward, with the latch on the inside.

• Install panic alarms on all house doors and windows leading to the pool area.

• Drain off water that accumulates on top of a pool cover. A child can drown in as little as two inches of water.

• Keep poles and life preservers around the pool.

• Require all non-swimmers to wear life vests when they are near water, especially rivers.

• Don’t assume that swimming lessons make a child (or anyone) invulnerable to drowning.

• Learn to swim yourself, and learn CPR, which can not only save lives but prevent brain damage.