The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the leading provider of outdoor recreation on all federally-managed public lands in the United States.

With nearly 12 million acres of land and water in its portfolio, the USACE is responsible for 56,000 miles of shoreline, 456 lakes located in 43 states, and over 4,000 recreation sites in its area of operation; therefore, it’s imperative that visitors “Learn to Swim Well” before using our facilities.

Our mission is to consolidate and integrate existing water safety initiatives, promote an increase in water safety awareness and to prevent drowning. We are dedicated to advancing, promoting, and providing water safety interpretation, outreach, and education.

The USACE Southwestern Division provides water-based recreational opportunities to the public and boasts the most visited recreational areas in the entire Corps with 81,549,270 visitors in fiscal year 2010 and 72,097,979 in FY11. USACE Galveston District hosted more than 5.3 million visitors last year.

Though water safety remained a top priority for USACE, water-related deaths at SWD Corps recreational areas maintained a steady fatality rate averaging more than 50 deaths per year over the last five years, with 83 fatalities in 2011. Learn more in Knowledge (the official safety magazine of the U.S. Army) about the Corps’ water safety program and see what USACE Galveston has planned throughout the year to support water safety.