I went looking for this because I wanted to know whether a public pool is a nice thing to have or a safety thing. It turns out there is a fair amount of published data, and almost none of it is about Berkeley.
Between 2017 and 2021 there were 4,166 drowning incidents among California children aged one to four: 234 deaths, 846 hospitalisations and 3,086 emergency department visits. The annual fatality rate did not fall over those five years.
That comes from a 2024 study in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, using California vital statistics and state hospital discharge data.
A note on the wording, because it matters. The finding holds for ages one to four. The same study also states it more narrowly as the leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death for that age band. For ages five to fourteen, drowning drops to second. Anyone quoting this should keep the age range attached to it.
The CDC publishes drowning rates by race. Black people under thirty drown at 1.5 times the rate of white people. The gap is widest in childhood: 2.6 times at ages five to nine, 3.6 times at ages ten to fourteen.
In swimming pools specifically, Black children aged ten to fourteen drown at 7.6 times the rate of white children.
The CDC also reports where it happens. White children and young people are more likely to drown in residential pools. Black children and young people are more likely to drown in public ones.
A survey of 1,283 parents covering 2,148 children, run through Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, asked who had had swimming lessons.
Share of children aged four and over who had had swimming lessons. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago parent panel.
The same survey asked the parents about themselves. Under 4% of white parents said they had never learned to swim. For Black parents it was 26%, and for Latine parents 32%.
In a separate national survey reported by the CDC in 2024, 36.8% of Black adults said they do not know how to swim.
Formal swimming lessons are associated with an estimated 88% lower drowning risk for children aged one to four. That figure is cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which lists swim lessons as one of five layers of protection alongside four-sided pool fencing, supervision, life jackets and CPR.
Lessons need somewhere to happen.
Berkeley built three public pools in the mid-1960s, one at each middle school. Two are still running: King Pool in North Berkeley and West Campus Pool in West Berkeley. The Berkeley High warm pool closed in 2011. Willard closed in 2010.
Berkeley’s Black population was 10% of the city in 2010 and 8% in 2020 — a net loss of about 1,400 residents over the decade, while every other group in the city grew. South Berkeley has been the centre of that community since long before the pool was built.
Everything above is national or statewide. I have not found any of the following, and I would rather leave a gap here than fill it with a number I can’t show you the source for:
Alameda County Public Health may hold the first. The City’s aquatics programme would hold the second. If you know how to get either, or you already have them, I’d like to hear from you.
Cheng D, et al. “Drowning Among Children 1–4 Years of Age in California, 2017–2021.” Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2024. westjem.com
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Health Disparities in Drowning.” cdc.gov/drowning
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, parent survey on swimming skills across generations, reported by Northwestern University. news.northwestern.edu
CDC Foundation, on CDC Vital Signs drowning data and swim lesson access. cdcfoundation.org
Berkeleyside, analysis of 2020 census data by Berkeley census tract. berkeleyside.org
City of Berkeley Citywide Pools Master Plan, November 2009.