With 4th of July weekend less than week away, a Bridgeport attorney is advising the public on the importance of water safety.

Paul Ganim, a personal injury attorney and longtime Bridgeport boater , says it's one thing to relax by the water, but if kids are in the picture, you should always designate "a sober water-watcher."

"I would go to the beach, I would put a lifejacket on my kids at low tide, because when that tide comes in suddenly, and we're not paying attention, I know they are safe," said Ganim. "To have a great summer turn into a tragedy because somebody didn't wear a life jacket, fall into the water, drown, it's going to devastate families. It's so easy to protect them."

Ganim says between 15-hundred and 2-thousand people drown in the U.S. every summer, with July consistently recording the highest number of water deaths.