How to stay safe in the water

July 20, 2023

Hot weather in the B.C. Interior is nothing new, and neither is flocking to the beach or water to cool off. Summer started early with scorching temperatures emerging in May. However, with the kids out of school and more families enjoying the sunshine, it’s time to revisit water safety to keep yourself and your children safe for remainder of summer.

As part of Interior Health's series Safety First: An IH Guideline to Safe Sport, and with National Drowning Prevention Week running from July 16-22, there is no better time to break down how to keep safe around the water.

“According to the most recent B.C. Coroner’s Report, in 2022, there were 86 fatalities. Eighty-six people passed away unfortunately from drowning across the province,” noted IH’s Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Silvina Mema. “In the Interior Health region, that number was 31. So we accounted for more than a third of fatalities due to drowning in B.C.”

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Wear a lifejacket while you're swimming or on the water

Experts note that men over the age of 18 and children under five are at the greatest risk of drowning. They recommend always wearing a properly-fitted lifejacket or personal floatation device appropriate to the water activity.

Wearing a lifejacket means if you, your children or friends get into a dangerous situation, the personal floatation device (PFD) buys you time before you can be rescued, whether swimming at the beach or if a boat capsizes.

“The main push behind National Drowning Prevention Week is drowning in unsupervised areas, so with that we always encourage people to wear jackets,” noted City of Kamloops Aquatics Deck Leader Andrew Smeaton. “It’s really important when you’re around one of those backyard pools if you don’t know how to swim that those people are wearing lifejackets.”

Fingers clipping a black and green lifejacket.

Similarly, Smeaton says people going on a boat should wear a lifejacket, which is the No. 1 method to prevent drownings.

The Lifesaving Society notes 80 per cent of victims in boating-related drownings were not wearing a lifejacket.

“Many boaters feel false security because they are strong swimmers or because there is a lifejacket within reach,” the organization says. “But trying to put a lifejacket on before you capsize, or while in the water, is like trying to buckle your seatbelt right before your car crashes. It's impossible.”

Most people who drown are within 15 metres of safety and wearing a lifejacket buys time before you can be rescued.

Do not use substances before or during your activity

While wearing a lifejacket is critical, so is not consuming substances like alcohol or drugs while operating a boat.

In 36 per cent of drowning cases while boating, alcohol is a major contributing.

Avoiding alcohol, cannabis or any other mind-altering substance is key in staying safe on the water.

“For older teens and young adults is really focusing on not mixing drinking with water activities because adding that extra factor of having a couple of drinks or substances can lead to impaired judgment and that’s where there’s an extra level of risk that can lead to more chances to drowning,” said Smeaton.

Keep children in sight

Lifesaving Society has a saying that if you’re out of reach of your children, you’ve gone too far. It means if you’re at the beach, experts say be right there with your toddlers and young children or set up your chair close to where they are playing near the water.

According to the Lifesaving Society, 96 per cent of drowning deaths in children under five happen when there is little to no supervision.

“At a beach setting, the most important thing is for parents that have young children is to keep them within arms reach,” noted Smeaton. “Keep them close to you. If they’re going near the water, position yourself near the water, so you’re easily able to respond if they were to fall in or even just have a tumble over.”

Mema notes drowning can happen quickly and quietly. Children can drown in as little as 2.5 centimetres, or one inch, of water.