So far this year, Colorado Parks & Wildlife boating safety officials have recorded 26 deaths on all Colorado waterways and water bodies in only four months from March through July 2.

CPW Boating Law Administrator Grant Brown said the common denominator for those drownings and fatalities, reported to or verified by the state agency, is not wearing a life vest or personal floatation device.

Brown said the data shows most of the drowning deaths involved adult males, winds, cold water, and the majority, on lakes or flat water.

“Regardless of your age or experience level, cold water can quickly create a drowning emergency,” according to CPW. “Only boat or paddle in conditions you are comfortable and confident paddling in. Boat and raft with a buddy, and avoid floating alone, especially during high flows.”

Even when the air temperatures are warmer, many Colorado water bodies retain colder water temperatures that can cause cold water immersion shock that can trigger involuntary gasping, rapid breathing or hyperventilating, Brown said.

In Colorado, children age 12 and younger are required to wear a personal floatation device whenever they are on a vessel on the water, except when they are in an enclosed cabin or below deck. A vessel includes paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and all types of boats and watercraft, except for single-chamber blow-up devices such as inner tubes.

In 2023, CPW tracked 32 water-related fatalities, a state record-setting 42 deaths in 2022, 22 deaths in 2021 and 34 deaths in 2020.

U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in four out of every five recreational boating fatalities in 2021, and 83 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.