CDC - Healthy Swimming and Recreational Water Home

RWI Prevention Week 2009 - Prevent recreational water illnesses.
FREE Healthy Swimming Brochure - Learn how to protect yourself and your family.
Play it safe in the sun - Not all sun protection comes in a bottle!

Swimming and other water-related activities are excellent ways to get the physical activity needed for a healthy life, and millions of people enjoy oceans, lakes, rivers, pools, and spas each year. However, it is important to be aware of ways to prevent water-related adverse health events, such as sunburn and other injuries, drowning, and recreational water illnesses (RWIs). CDC's Healthy Swimming program provides information for the public and health professionals (e.g. outbreak response toolkits and the Model Aquatic Health Code) on a variety of subjects.

Healthy Swimming & Recreational Water Topics

Pools & Spas

Model Aquatic Health Code, Design, Operation, Disinfection...

Injury & Skin Cancer

Drowning, Boating, Sun Protection...

Education & Resources

Promotion & Prevention Materials, FAQs, Training and Education...

Data & Statistics

Tracking (Injury, Disease, Outbreak), Resources...

Oceans, Lakes, & Rivers

Beach Monitoring, Water Quality Indicators...

Recreational Water Illness

RWI Basics, Education & Prevention Materials, State Resources...

Outbreak Response Toolkits

RWI, Legionellosis, Cryptosporidiosis, etc....

Healthy Swimming Fast Facts

There are 8.8 million residential and public-use swimming pools in the United States (1).
In the United States during 2006, there were approximately 339 million pool visits each year by persons over the age of six (2).
Forty-one percent of children aged 7-17 years, and 17.4% of adults in the United States, swim at least six times per year (2).
There are over 6.6 million hot tubs in operation in the United States (3).
Sunburn is a risk factor for both basal cell carcinoma and melanoma (types of skin cancer). In 2003, a total of 45,625 new cases of melanoma were diagnosed in the United States, and 7,818 persons died from the disease (4).
Over 11 percent (500 of 4,533) of spa inspections conducted during 2002 resulted in an immediate closure, pending the correction of the violations (5).

Healthy Water Home

The Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) effort is working towards providing uniform guidelines for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of swimming pools and other disinfected swimming venues to prevent recreational water illnesses (RWIs) and injuries and promote healthy recreational water experiences.

Hubbard R. U.S. Swimming Pool Industry Experiences Downturn in 2007. Pool and Spa Marketing. March (2009a):12-13. Available at http://www.poolspamarketing.com/public/stats/pdf/2007_US_Swiming_Pool_Stats.pdf (PDF, 543 kb, 2 pages)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2009 Statistical Abstract of the United States. Recreation and leisure activities: participation in selected sports activities 2006. Available at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s1209.pdf (PDF, 454 kb, 2 pages)
Hubbard R. U.S. Hot Tub Sales Not so Hot in 2007. Pool and Spa Marketing. March (2009b):14. Available at http://www.poolspamarketing.com/public/stats/pdf/2007_US_Hot_Tub_Stats.pdf (PDF, 465 kb, 1 page)
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States cancer statistics: 1999--2003 incidence and mortality web based report. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Cancer Institute; 2006. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2004. Surveillance Data from Public Spa Inspections---United States, May—September 2002. MMWR 53(25): 553-555. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5325a2.htm.

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