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Freshwater Swimming: Fun or Folly?

By KRISTEN STERNBERG | NIE Educational Consultant

Central Florida is filled with fun places to swim. In addition to hundreds of miles of beach to enjoy, there are also plenty of lakes, streams, rivers and more. Freshwater springs, like those found at Blue Spring and DeLeon Springs State Parks, for instance, offer cool, refreshing water in natural surroundings. Hundreds of lakes dot the area, along with clear streams and rivers that can be a lot of fun, too. Swimmers, though, should be alert to the dangers that can lurk in seemingly innocent, Florida waters!

"It's the critters you can't see that are scary," a local medical expert was recently quoted as saying. In an article published in The Daytona Beach News-Journal, readers were warned that, for swimmers, micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses and parasites—all of them too tiny to see with the naked eye) can be as much of a threat as alligators.

Hot, summer weather causes water temperatures to rise, and warm water creates better conditions for micro-organisms. Shallow lakes and streams heat up faster than oceans and other large bodies of water, so freshwater swimmers are more likely to be affected by the organisms. Droughts also contribute to the growth of micro-organisms, because water levels drop and underground springs flow more slowly.

Although infections don't often happen, their symptoms can range from mild, as in a headache or an upset stomach, to extreme. Not long ago, an area youth became critically ill from bacteria he encountered while swimming in an area lake. In recent years, Volusia County officials have even closed some local springs during extremely hot and dry weather.

Staying informed about possible dangers from waterborne micro-organisms could keep you from getting sick, but viruses, bacteria and the like are not the only dangers that swimmers face. Did you know that most swimming accidents are preventable? Responsible swimmers always follow some basic safety rules. How many of them were you able to name?

Try these interesting activities using The Daytona Beach News-Journal

1. Bacteria fall into the category of "protists," one-celled organisms that share qualities of both plants and animals. Read articles about bacteria that you find in The News-Journal. Take note of the ones that are helpful and harmful to humans and other animals. Share your findings with friends and family. (Sunshine State Standards SC.G.1.2.1)

2. Use The News-Journal to find examples of people acting responsibly and safely while having fun in activities in and around the water, as well as example of those behaving in an unsafe or irresponsible manner. Collect all of the examples and use them to make a poster of "Water Safety Dos and Don'ts." Display your poster in a public place so that others can learn. (Sunshine State Standards HE.B.1.2.2)

3. Water-borne organisms can spread quickly when water temperatures become warm. In today's News-Journal, find and read the weather forecasts for major coastal cities of the world. Use what you learn to determine the safest places in the world to go swimming. Locate those places on a map of the world. Then, check the online newspaper for those cities for more information about water-based activities and weather there. (Sunshine State Standards HE.A.1.2.5)

4. Lakes, streams, rivers, oceans and other bodies of water play an enormous part in our lives, so they routinely appear in newspaper articles. Skim The News-Journal for such features. Locate each body of water on a map and identify whether it is fresh, salt of brackish (contains some salt content). Give yourself a gold star if you can draw or describe how the water cycle influences or is influenced by the bodies of water you identified. (Sunshine State Standards SC.D.1.2.4)

5. If you haven't yet learned to swim, or if you just want to improve your swimming skills, you may be interested in taking swimming lessons. Check The News-Journal routinely for features or listings about local opportunities for beginning and advanced swimmers. (Sunshine State Standards PE.A.3.2.3)

A copy of Florida's Sunshine State Standards can be found at intech2000.miamisci.org/.

Check out these links to learn more

Did you know that swimming is one of the oldest activities known to humans? Click on the link to an interesting web site, where you will discover what ancient warriors in Iraq used for snorkeling equipment! You can also learn basic swimming techniques at the site, like doing the crawl stroke or treading water. www.cbc4kids.cbc.ca

If are interested in swimming you may enjoy learning more about competitive swimming. Try the official site of USA Swimming. Check out the trivia questions and tips of the week, play an on-line video game from Disney or read some poems about swimming by some young, up-and-coming swimming superstars. www.usswim.org

Then, explore these cool facts about frogs and make a jumping origami frog. www.seagrant.wisc.edu

The Newspaper Association of America's web site contains links to many newspapers in the U.S. and around the world, which may contain additional news stories about this topic. To access the newspapers at the site, select a state. Click on the "Internationals" button to view choices from other countries.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal NIE Program, published August 5, 2002

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