The state’s water-safety initiative, SPLASH, aims to greatly reduce the number of water-related deaths and injuries.

SPLASH encourages citizens to follow these tips when enjoying beaches, pools, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water:

• Supervision – Designate an adult to watch children at all times. Do not assume someone else is watching.

• Prevention – Wear personal flotation devices (PFD or life jacket), install fencing around pools, and use drain covers in hot tubs and pools.

• Life jackets save lives – Wear them and be sure your children do.

• Arm’s Length – Adults should be arm’s length to children in water, and safety tools such as hooks should be nearby at all times.

• Swim Lessons – Knowing how to swim greatly reduces the chance of drowning. Classes are often available through the Red Cross or YMCA.

• Have a Water Safety Plan – Know what to do during a water emergency.

The campaign includes bilingual brochures, boat checks by law enforcement officers, public service announcements and videos, and social media messaging. The DNR is in the process of adding “loaner boards” with PFDs at public boat ramps and swimming areas, and these locations are being added to the Georgia Outdoors app as they are put into service.

Initially launched by Georgia's First Lady Sandra Deal and her Children's Cabinet in 2015, the SPLASH campaign was re-launched in 2017 and currently has a number of public and private partners, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, Georgia Power, Shepherd Center and others.

SPLASH Toolkit

Files in the SPLASH Toolkit may be downloaded or viewed by anyone wishing to present water safety information to a group or class of any age. No permission to download is necessary. The goal of this initiative is to save lives. That is accomplished by getting the safety information to the masses. We do ask that if you use the material, let us know by clicking SPLASH GA Facebook page and making a comment on the page. More materials will be added to the toolkit as they become available.

• Click here for Rack Card  in English and Spanish

• Click PowerPoint Presentation - to save presentation to your computer or device. Please see the PowerPoint Expansion Information below before using the PowerPoint.

  • Click here for the PowerPoint Expansion Information - Please read prior to using the PowerPoint.

• Click here for the SPLASH logo

• Click here for Life Jacket Loaner Board comprehensive building plans and materials list

• Click here for an alternative Life Jacket Loaner Board materials list

• Click here for recommended water rescue tool kit for law enforcement

• Click here to learn how you can donate a life jacket

• Click here to visit the SPLASH Facebook page

“Wear It!” is the leading national safe boating campaign designed to meet the needs of the recreational boating community through its broad-based, multi-faceted partnerships.

Through these alliances on a variety of national, regional and community-based scales, the yearlong campaign focuses on  family-oriented and family-targeted education and safety awareness messages.

The safe boating campaign places specific focus on life jacket wear, educating and informing the recreational boating public about the different life jacket options that are currently available, including inflatable life jackets.

Click here for the Web site of the Wear It campaign.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta recently launched a water safety program.  As part of that campaign, they have created a digital toolkit, which includes:

• Newsletter copy
• Social media copy, downloadable images, graphics and GIFs
• A :30 video with suggested text

Click here for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Water Safety Digital Toolkit