Water Safety

25 Stories

Seattle's in for a (mostly) sunny Memorial Day weekend. Here's how to stay safe around water

Memorial Day weekend is here — and while you may be tempted to celebrate the unofficial start of summer by heading to the beach or jumping into one of the Seattle area’s many bodies of water, King County officials are urging caution.
- KUOW Staff
Not-so-fresh water: How to avoid getting poop-sick from Seattle lakes

With the sun blazing and temperatures expected to climb into the low 80s Friday, Seattleites will be eying area lakes and swimming beaches for relief from the heat. But before you take the plunge, it’s important to consider several factors that could prevent you or your furry friends (and pets) from getting sick or worse from bacteria and toxic algae that could be lurking in your favorite swimming hole.
- Stephen Howie
How beverage battles undermined the tap and gave rise to bottled water

Dip into your average grocery or convenience store, and you’ll have your pick of at least a dozen different brands of bottled water. But despite being so ubiquitous in American culture today, the meteoric rise of bottled water isn't by coincidence -- and your average bottle and average tap have more in common than you might think.
- Libby Denkmann
Crowds of costumed crazies take a slightly less freezing plunge in Seattle to mark 2024

Brave Seattleites jumped into Lake Washington New Year's Day for the annual Polar Bear Plunge! Organizers estimated about 2,000 people crowded along the shore of Matthews Beach in North Seattle as they got ready to run into the water.
- Natalie Akane Newcomb
Farms in Western Washington evacuate during record river flooding

Many rivers in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties flooded Tuesday due to heavy rain and melting snow from the mountains. Forecasters say the atmospheric river drenching the Pacific Northwest should start to ease on Wednesday.
- John O'Brien
How 'forever chemicals' got in the groundwater west of Spokane

Seattle Times reporters Isabella Breda & Manuel Villa talk with Soundside about PFAS chemicals in the drinking water near the city of Spokane.
- Jason Burrows
This water taxi captain prevented a runaway barge from ramming into downtown Seattle. Here's his account

Captain Dan Krehbiel was steering a water taxi boat from West Seattle on Thursday when he spotted a runaway barge -- a six-story wall of steel containers -- headed at a clipped pace of the Great Wheel and the Seattle Aquarium. What follows is Krehbiel’s account of what happened.
- Patricia Murphy
Inner tubes are out with ban to save Nooksack River salmon

The Whatcom County Council has banned inner-tubing on the South Fork Nooksack River to protect endangered Chinook salmon there.
- John Ryan
Many teens don't know how to swim. A grassroots organization is trying to change that

First Strokes, a nonprofit based in New York City, is helping students learn water safety skills and how to swim. They offer free swimming lessons for teens — taught by other teens.
- Anastasia Tsioulcas
What's cooler than cool? Lake Washington

The heat is hitting early this spring in Seattle and people are flocking outside. These sunny days are a great time to dust off your paddleboard or kayak. But that water is dangerously cold. Derek Van Dyke, an education coordinator with the Washington State Parks Boating Program will fill us in on the fun of being alert on the water.
- Brandi Fullwood

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