High water on Edmonton river spurs call to stay safe during recreational activities

The city is reminding that anyone using a boat, floatie or paddle board is required to wear a life jacket on the North Saskatchewan River or they can be fined.

With waterways swollen from recent record rainfall comes a reminder during a week that typically sees the most drowning deaths in any given year: wear a life jacket when on the water.

Those who don’t when they’re in, on or holding onto a watercraft in the North Saskatchewan River or any body of water inside the Edmonton city limits – be it a boat, paddleboard or inflatable vessel, for example – risk a fine of $250.

“Even if you’re floating in a tube, a floating mattress, if you’re using it to navigate from one place to another, minimum safety gear is required,” Travis Young, a peace officer with the Park Ranger Marine Unit, told reporters on Wednesday during a media availability highlighting National Drowning Prevention Week at the Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre.

The annual awareness campaign is held the third week of July, which is when the majority of drownings typically occur across the country, says Madison Lalonde, the managing director of the Lifesaving Society for Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Lalonde said getting the message across to those who wish to wade into rivers and lakes is important, given that only one per cent of drowning incidents occur at lifeguard-patrolled pools.

And not just from lack of supervision, she says.

“When we see drowning deaths, a lot of the time, it’s in those outdoor unsupervised environments, unfortunately, because they come with a lot of additional risks,” Lalonde said Wednesday.

“It’s not just lack of supervision, but deadfall and underwater hazards can be entrapments, and currents that can overtake even the strongest of swimmers.”

Data from the society shows an average of 44 people have drowned in Alberta each year since 2015, with 70 per cent of them occurring in lakes and rivers.

She said, given the high water levels in rivers right now, her organization would rather people didn’t swim in the river, and for those who plan activities near or on it to be prepared with life jackets and boat safety kits.

The City of Edmonton recommends:

• children be kept within arm’s reach whenever near water, including bathtubs as well as rivers,
• swimming with a buddy, never alone;
• That people, and even pets, wear a properly fitted lifejacket on the river or boating, regardless of swimming ability or watercraft;
• staying sober in, on and around water; and
• consider learning how to swim, which the city calls one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of drowning. It offers a free Welcome to Swimming program at the Clareview, Mill Woods and the Meadows Recreation Centres.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton