An elderly man drowned in a Corlette pool while another man went missing in waters off Snapper Island. His body was later recovered.

Half the number of incidents involved children, alcohol or elderly people, and most, if not all, could have been prevented, according to NSW Ambulance Service paramedic David Morris.

"Most [drownings] are preventable but you are going to have your accidents," he said.

A dozen children under the age of five drowned in NSW pools last year.

The NSW Royal Surflife Saving Society's CEO David Macallister said it was absolutely imperative that parents underwent water familiarisation with children under five, and from then on, sought accredited learn-to-swim training.

In 2010, a two-year-old toddler died in an Anna Bay pool. Last month a seven-year-old girl was rescued from a swimming pool at Shoal Bay, while on Christmas Day an 11-year-old girl was dragged from waters off Mallabula after a dinghy with four children aboard capsized. More than 54 near drownings have been reported across the state this month, including an 18-year-old female who was pulled from the water at Birubi Beach.