Drowning in Virginia

Virginians face a significant burden due to drowning. A total of 3,408 potential years of life were lost in Virginia in 2023 due to drowning before the age of 75 (CDC, WISQARS, 2025).

From 2020 to 2024, 473 Virginians died due to drowning:

11.6% occurred in pools.
15.6% occurred in bathtubs.
58.1% occurred in a natural body of water like lakes, oceans, or rivers.

Three in four (74.8%) of these drownings occurred among males.

Drowning occurred among all age groups. Among people who drowned in swimming pools, 40.0% were children ages 1 to 4, and another 10.9% were youth ages 5 to 19, meaning just over half of all pool drowning deaths were among those under 20 years old.

The Cost of Drowning

Drowning deaths are not the only burden faced by Virginians. Time, hospitalization, and treatment costs for non-fatal drowning can be devastating to families.

Hospitalization

During 2020 to 2024 in Virginia, there were 81 inpatient hospitalizations for non-fatal drownings.

23.5% of these were pool-related. Of these:
- - 63.1% were male.
  - 47.4% were among children ages 1-4 years (VDH, Office of Family Health Services, 2025).

Emergency Response

During 2020 to 2024 in Virginia, there were 1,477 drowning-related emergency departments (ED) visits for non-fatal drownings. Of these:

43.5% of these were among children less than 5 years of age
20.6% were among children 5-14 years of age.

Males accounted for 59.3% of ED visits.

Of reported injuries:

32.0% occurred in a pool.
19.6% occurred in a natural body of water.
10.1% occurred in a bathtub.
38.3% occurred in a water type that was unspecified (VDH, Office of Epidemiology, 2025).

Between 2020-2024, there were 522 drowning-related EMS incidents. Of these:

170 (32.6%) occurred in a pool. Of those:
- 47.0% of persons were less than 5 years of age.
- 20.0% were aged 5-14 years of age (VDH, Office of Emergency Medical Services, 2025).