Goosport Park, 1619 Cessford St., will become an oasis during the summer months.

Next year, construction on the new Goosport Park Pool will begin. The city announced the project on Thursday. Not only will the project offer a refreshing reprieve during hot weather, it will also tackle a fatal issue: drowning.

There is a rise in drowning deaths in the United States, according to a CDC Vital Signs Study that was released earlier this year. From 2020 to 2022, 4,500 people died from drowning each year — 500 more deaths than in 2019.

The CDC cited a lack of access to swimming lessons as a “barrier” that prevents safe swimming, and 4 million adults do not know how to swim.

Thirty-seven percent of Black adults don’t know how to swim, compared to 15 percent of all adults. Additionally, two in three Black adults and three in four Hispanic adults have never taken a swimming lesson.

This issue is more prevelent in several subgroups. Drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1 through 4. African American children ages 5 through 9 are two and a half times more likely to drown, and ages 10-14 are three and a half times more likely.

Seniors 65 and older are the population with the second-highest rate of drowning.

Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said the pool will “turn the tide” on the harrowing drowning statistics. According to the U.S. National Water Safety Action Plan, access to public pools and swimming lesson programs are some of the most effective ways to combat fatal drowning incidents.

“Making swimming lessons accessible will save lives,” he said. “Those are some sobering statistics, and those are statistics that we would like to see changed here in Lake Charles.”

Lake Charles Director of Community Services Michael Castille said the city will provide swimming programming after the facility is built.

“Kids will enjoy themselves here at a recreational level, but we will also program from a standpoint to attack those statistics.”

He said this will be the only public pool of its kind north of Interstate 10.

Councilman Ronnie Havery Jr., District A, said spaces for water activities are necessary and especially needed in District A.

“Being a product of this community, I haven’t seen a public pool since I was a teenager.”

But in the end, the pool will benefit the whole city, not just his district, he said.

“It’s not about me. It’s not about the odds. It’s about we. I know a lot of times we put emphasis on certain areas of Lake Charles, but at the end of the day it’s about making Lake Charles a better place.”

The Goosport Park pool will also create workforce development opportunities to train the “next generation of lifeguards,” Hunter said.

The pool has been designed to accommodate the youngest and the oldest of Lake Charles. Harvey called it a “monumental” project for children and seniors alike.

“When we make decisions here in this district, we have to always think about everybody. Not just one generation.”

The pool will feature a child-wading area and universal accessibility entrances and will support lifeguard training.

The project is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant of $629,000.

Construction will begin in the second quarter of 2025 and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.