Wear it!

Thousands of people visit the lakes during Labor Day weekend. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, the most important safety tip to keep in mind is always wear a properly-fitted, U-S Coast Guard-approved life jacket when you’re in, on, or around the water. So far this year, four people lost their lives to drowning at a U-S Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Savannah River. All of those tragedies occurred since Memorial Day, all while swimming. None of the four were wearing life jackets. At Lake Hartwell, a middle aged man drowned while swimming across a cove to retrieve fishing gear that had floated away. Once he reached the other side, he collapsed and drowned.