How to stay safe in the water

Wearing a properly fitted lifejacket or personal floatation device appropriate to the water activity is one of the best ways to prevent drowning. 

Many boaters, for example, feel a false sense of security because they are strong swimmers or because there is a lifejacket within reach says the Lifesaving Society. 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. According to a study by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre, more than 80 per cent of people who died in boating-related incidents were not wearing a personal floatation device or lifejacket.

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“It’s also really important for anyone around a backyard pool or at a lake to wear a lifejacket if they don’t know how to swim,” says City of Kamloops Aquatics Deck Leader Andrew Smeaton. “If you fall unexpectedly into deep water, the Lifesaving Society recommends being able to swim 50 meters and tread water for one minute. That’s quite a high standard, but that’s what people need to be able to do to survive a fall into deep water.”

While wearing a lifejacket is critical, so is not consuming substances like alcohol or drugs while operating a boat. Avoiding alcohol, cannabis or any other mind-altering substance is key to staying safe on the water. 

In B.C., between 2013 and 2022, alcohol and/or drugs were reported in more than half of the drowning deaths of individuals aged 30-39.

“Mixing drinking and/or drugs with water activities can lead to impaired judgement and that’s where there’s an extra level of risk that can lead to more chances of drowning,” says Smeaton.

The 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 or a pool, be right there with your toddlers and young children. According to the Lifesaving Society, 96 per cent of drowning deaths in children under five happen when there is little to no supervision.

Drowning prevention tips (BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit)

“At a beach or pool, the most important thing is for parents that have young children is to keep them within arms’ reach,” notes Smeaton. “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.”

Children can drown in as little as 2.5 centimeters (one inch) of water, and drowning can happen quickly and quietly.

July 21–27, 2024 is National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada, and July 25 marks World Drowning Prevention Day.

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