LIFE JACKET LOANER PROGRAM

Life jackets are available to check out for free at Modesto and Woodward Reservoirs for our visitors, whether they are staying for the day or overnight. Life jacket loaner stations are located at Modesto Reservoir Main Boat Dock and Woodward Reservoir Office Point. Life jackets are also available upon request at the entrance station or by asking any park or Sheriff staff member. Be sure to bring it back so that others can benefit from the safety that the life jackets provide.

These lifejackets are made available through grants from the Sea Tow Foundation and California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, along with generous community organization donations.

LIFE JACKETS SAVE LIVES

Deaths from drowning are preventable tragedies that can affect anyone in, on, or around the water. Wearing a life jacket is a simple life-saving technique. Regardless of your swimming ability, even strong swimmers should utilize them. There is no age limit for wearing a life jacket. Here are some important reminders:

• Make sure your life jacket is U.S. Coast Guard approved.
• Double check that your life jacket is appropriate for the water activities that you and your loved ones will be participating in. Read the label!
• Take the time to ensure a proper fit: right size and right weight rating.
• Check your life jacket – make sure it is in good serviceable condition, with no tears or holes.
• Life jackets are not swim lesson aids. However, exposure to life jackets during swimming lessons teaches a child how it should fit, and how it feels and performs in the water.
• The main thing to remember is that a life jacket is just one of the layers of drowning prevention.
• Children who have learned to swim or are comfortable in the water or in a life jacket still need other layers of drowning protection, including close supervision, fencing barriers, and water watchers.
• When boating be sure that each person is wearing and/or has a life jacket available.

Always wear a life jacket in, around, or near waterways. Life Jackets Save Lives!