Province reminds residents to stay safe around water during National Drowning Prevention Week

Warm weather in the province means many residents and visitors will be seeking relief in the water. The province is reminding people to stay safe while splashing around this summer.

July 19-25 is National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada, an initiative led by the Lifesaving Society. In a release, the province offered several tips for keeping safe around water.

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The number one rule is to make use of life jackets while paddling, boating and swimming, the provincial release stated. Many provincial parks loan out life jackets at no cost to make that easy.

“Our life jacket loaner stations make it easier for families to access safety equipment, but everyone has a role to play in preventing drowning,” said Brad Crassweller, legislative secretary to the Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport in a release.

Other tips include keeping an eye on children when they’re near water, learning basic water safety and CPR, and avoiding drugs and alcohol when swimming or boating.

Shelby Rushton, CEO of Life Saving Societies’ Saskatchewan branch, said the annual campaign focuses on education, awareness and preventing tragedies before they happen.

“We have so much water in this country, and we want people to be safe,” she said.

Shelby Rushton, Shelby Rushton, CEO of Life Saving Societies’ Saskatchewan branch, said many drownings occur because people don’t wear life jackets. (Shelby Rushton/Submitted)

Ruston said the campaign brings water safety directly into communities, with local facilities playing a role in educating the public.

“Many of the pools across the province are participating in National Drowning Prevention Week, so they have their own activities and public education sessions planned throughout the week,” she said

“The best way to find that out is to check out any of the public pools’ Facebook pages.”

Rushton said the annual event has been running for more than 20 years, and remains the organization’s flagship public education initiative across Canada.

While many people associate summer with swimming, boating and outdoor adventures, Rushton said those activities come with risks.

“In Saskatchewan, we are averaging 24 drowning fatalities annually. Nationally, we are averaging about 485 across the country,” Rushton said.

She said the push for more awareness comes as the province continues to navigate changes in water-safety trends following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have seen an increase since COVID,” Rushton said. “That could be due to the swimming pools being closed for a while. But hopefully that number will go down.”

According to Rushton, many drowning incidents involve factors that could have been prevented.

“When there should have been a (personal flotation device) or life jacket with the victim, there may have been one, but they weren’t wearing them,” Rushton said.

Although this is a major factor in drowning deaths, Ruston said there are also other contributing factors.

“We’re finding alcohol and other drugs in the victim systems, and then for preschoolers and young children, most often the death has occurred because there’s either been no parent or caregiver around,” she explained

“Or the parent or caregiver has been distracted, so they’ve been on their phone or they’ve walked away just for a couple of seconds.”

For young children, Rushton supervision remains one of the most important safety measures to prevent potential drownings.

“Children move so fast around the water,” she said. “A lot of time when people are drowning, they aren’t going to be calling for help, so it’s quite silent.”

Rushton said another major challenge is complacency regarding safety.

“I think the biggest one is that it’s never going to happen to them,” she said.

She said there are also instances where people don’t plan well, and then run into situations where they don’t know what to do.

“Lots of times the victim never intended to be in the water. They’ve just slipped off the dock or fallen out of the boat and they can’t get back in,” she said.

Rushton encouraged anyone heading out to a lake, river, or beach to understand the area, check for hazards and use available safety equipment. She said many provincial parks also offer life jackets for use by visitors at no cost.

She says learning to swim is also one of the best tools people can have to prevent drownings.

“Get in, get some swimming lessons, or at least learn about the dangers so you can avoid them,” Rushton expressed.

As National Drowning Prevention Week continues, Rushton said she hopes families remember that water safety does not mean missing out on summer fun. Instead, it’s about making sure everyone gets home safely.

“Water, as much fun as it can be, can also have dangers,” she said.

“Be safe, prepare and make water-smart decisions.”

–with files from 980 CJME’s Joshua Potter