Green Fee funding for children's water safety programs

Building Water-Ready Communities: Protecting Hawaiʻi's Children from Flood and Climate Risks

Provide Green Fee funding to the Hawaiʻi Water Safety Coalition to expand free swimming, water competency, life jacket and drowning-prevention programs for Hawaiʻi's children as a climate resilience and hazard mitigation strategy. Consistent with the recommendations of the 2025 Hawaiʻi Water Safety Plan, which the Hawaiʻi State Legislature supported, the initiative would prioritize communities facing elevated risks from flooding, stormwater systems, streams, shorelines and other water hazards.

Funding would support swim lessons, water safety education, survival swimming skills, life jacket distribution and community outreach to ensure all children, regardless of income or geography, have access to lifesaving protections. Hawaiʻi is already experiencing catastrophic flooding and hurricane impacts from Kona lows, Hurricane Lala and Hurricane Lowell, and El Niño conditions are expected to heighten weather extremes. As climate change increases the frequency and severity of flooding and extreme weather, water competency and life jacket use are essential tools for reducing drowning risk, strengthening disaster preparedness and building more resilient communities across Hawaiʻi.

Context on need: drowning remains the leading cause of visitor injury deaths in Hawaiʻi and the leading cause of death for resident children ages 1 to 15. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children drown at three times the rate of other children in the state. Research shows that fewer than 2% of Hawaiʻi's children have the water competency skills necessary to protect themselves in and around the water, highlighting the urgent need to expand access to swimming, water safety education and lifesaving skills before the next major flooding event occurs.