The River Safety Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, located in Loudoun County, Virginia. Our purpose is to promote safe swimming in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, and in Loudoun County’s many streams and creeks. The Foundation was established in 2013, in memory of Joshua Lee Carr, a young man from Virginia who lost his life while swimming in the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The organization’s official name is the Joshua Lee Carr River Safety Foundation.
Our Mission
The River Safety Foundation supports Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland Fire and Rescue Departments that patrol the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers; advocates for the placement of signage warning of the dangers of free water swimming; and engages in educational outreach to schools, churches, and Scouting organizations.
Common Misconceptions About
Swimming in Open Water
Flat, calm-looking water is safe.
Many areas of calm water are where a river is the deepest and likely to have swift currents just below the surface.
Shallow water is safe.
Rivers can move at 2 to 2.5 feet per second! This speed will knock over the average male (5’10”, 165 lbs) in waist deep water. A current moving 1 to 1.5 feet per second will upset a man standing in chest-deep water.
Rivers are safe when water levels are low.
Most drownings occur when water levels are low and the river is moving about 1.5 feet per second.
Those most at risk are the very young and the elderly.
Over 80% of river drowning victims are male; over 90% are between the ages of 16 – 30.
If you are fit, you are safe.
Being fit can actually be a liability – a young man with low body fat lacks the buoyancy to stay afloat
