Dear Pool Owner, As the person who is in your backyard every week, I have an important message for you. This is a message that somehow isn’t getting out there. It’s a message that I am in a unique position to help spread.

I want to talk to you about preventing drowning.

I know it’s a difficult subject. I know you don’t want to think about it happening to someone you know. Just thinking about it probably puts you into a panic. Just saying the word probably raises your blood pressure and gets your heart beating faster.

Maybe you never considered that I’m here for more than just to clean and maintain your pool. But as a human being, I think I have a responsibility to tell you about concerns I have about your pool safety.

I see your kids running around, playing in the yard, and I have come to care about you as my clients.

Your health and safety is important to me, and I’m here in your backyard doing everything I can think of to make sure that you have a clean, safe pool and a safe environment.

The last thing I want is to come to your pool one day and see that it’s all covered up and see condolence flowers because someone is lost.

You see, as a member of the pool and spa service profession, I try to stay upto- date and educated. I learn about all sorts of industry best practices and other service-related news. What keeps coming up is the topic of drowning prevention. I support that cause.

Did you know that drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 4 years old? Did you know that there are more than 3,500 fatal drownings in the U.S. every year?

Did you know that even when people survive drowning, 50 percent of them go on to require further medical care? A lot of these people have permanent brain damage. Did you know that in California alone, there are currently more than 700 children living in state hospitals who are brain damaged from drowning?

This isn’t meant to scare you, and I certainly don’t want you to close your pool!

In fact, I encourage people to swim. Swimming is great exercise, and it’s a lot of fun. People naturally gravitate toward water, and I’m happy for people who have the luxury to have a backyard pool.

I’m actually thrilled for you to have that beautiful backyard oasis. And I take pride in keeping your water and equipment in great shape. I believe that part of my responsibility to you is keeping your water safe.

There are things you should know and things that you can do to create a safe pool area.

I see things that could be improved at people’s pools every day.

So I hope you won’t think I’m being forward if I tell you that we need to fix your gate latch. I hope you don’t mind if I leave you a note reminding you to move that stack of chairs away from the fence that a child could climb over.

I tell you because I care, and I don’t want to imagine walking up to your pool next week knowing something happened here.

I believe that every pool owner has a responsibility to the community, and part of that is in educating themselves about pool safety.

So please accept this newspaper as a gift from me to you. It contains great information about pool safety that could help you save the life of a loved one.