Thomas urges swim safety as drownings rise in Harris County

Council Member Tiffany Thomas highlighted 44 drownings statewide, including nine in Harris County, with most of the local cases tied to apartment pools as Houston moved through another hot summer.

The pattern has been grim in the most vulnerable months. A FOX 26 Houston report said Harris County Child Protective Services most drownings happen between Memorial Day and Labor Day and that almost all are pool-related. That same report said two children, ages 4 and 6, drowned in Harris County apartment pools in a single week, while eight children had drowned in the Greater Houston area so far that year.

Access to safer water has not always kept pace with the need. Houston Parks and Recreation says the city’s pool operating season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with regular hours Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 7 p.m. and Sunday hours posted on the department’s swimming page. In June 2024, Houston Public Media said only 12 public swimming pools were open around Houston at the start of the season after destructive storms and a national lifeguard shortage.

That shortage mattered because public pools with lifeguards are one of the few alternatives to unsupervised apartment water. A 2017 City of Houston release said all 37 outdoor pools opened during Memorial Day weekend and began full summer operation on June 3, a reminder that the city has managed a broader pool network in past years. More recently, residents have faced fewer supervised options just as the heat rises and apartment pools become an easy, and sometimes risky, fallback.

Thomas has kept pushing swim-safety outreach. A June 3, 2026 city press release said she planned her fourth annual Swim Safety Clinic for June 13 at the Alief Neighborhood Center pool. A July 18, 2025 city release said she hosted a third annual clinic on July 26, 2025.

City water-safety guidance puts part of the responsibility on apartment management, too. It tells residents to inspect apartment pool fences and gates, and to report broken locks or other defects immediately. In Harris County, where many families rely on apartment complexes and nearby public amenities, the difference between a safe swim and a tragedy can come down to a locked gate, a working fence and a pool that is actually staffed when children need it most.