Water Safety New Zealand has released a breakdown of the total drownings that occurred in the Waikato region in 2016 - and it doesn't bode well for the Waikato.
Chief executive Jonty Mills said the Waikato's 17 total drownings in 2016 was significantly up on the region's average of 11 per year over the last five years.
The incidents made up 21 per cent of all preventable drownings in New Zealand last year, meaning the Waikato was over-represented proportionate to population.
While males are also traditionally over-represented in drowning statistics nationwide, making up 85 per cent of fatalities, the demographic was even greater in the Waikato, with all of those who died in the region's lakes, rivers and waterways last year being male.
"Young Kiwi males tend to overestimate their abilities and underestimate the risks, so not necessarily think about the consequences," said Mills.
The "Kiwi macho attitude" needed to be surpassed by a means of communication that resonated with them, he said.
Water Safety New Zealand worked in conjunction with Hamilton City Council in 2016, running a programme targeted at educating children about local swimming conditions and teaching them the skills to make wise decisions and get out of situations in the water.
The programme reached 1500 children last year.
Almost half of the 17 preventable drowning fatalities in Hamilton were aged 15 to 34, which had consistently been a high risk group in the water throughout New Zealand.
He emphasised six of the swimmers were also alone when they drowned, effectively meaning a third of the drownings could potentially not have happened if the victims had company to assist them when they got in the dangerous situation.
"The message we want to share around rivers in general is that they can be unpredictable and very changeable, particularly with different weather conditions. We certainly encourage people not to swim alone in rivers, because they're often quite remote," said Mills.
"The other obvious thing about rivers is that they are not serviced by lifeguards like beaches. The key with rivers is knowing local conditions and being aware of the dangers."