Croner-i look at how to stay safe near water at all times and in all conditions.

Summer is the season perhaps most associated with outdoor fun and activities that involve water. But open water dangers throughout the year can be a risk to people living and working near water under many different circumstances.

As temperatures rise, the temptation can also grow to take an impromptu dip — or big splash — to cool off, relax and explore in and around rivers, lakes, canals, shores, quarries, treatment works, construction sites, and other unattended waterways — always assuming that under drought conditions they still hold water!

However innocent-looking, water can be a human threat even to landlubbers. Boating carries its own inland, inshore and offshore risks. Commercial shipping has different health and safety issues. And in many parts of the world unhygienic water supplies can lead to serious diseases.

Even in the UK, wounds caused by contact with contaminated underwater debris are a very real risk. Equally worrying are the routine levels of pollution now recorded in open waterways that are a danger to anyone exposed to them, including open water swimmers.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 also make it a legal requirement for all employers to provide access to safe drinking water — with potential legal repercussions and even temporary closure if they fail. An outbreak of waterborne diseases like Legionnaires’ could be catastrophic for businesses. Detailed risk assessments and good water safety planning are vital.

In the summertime

Many seasonal dangers overlap but are often different too. Added to this, there are extended risks from contamination, pollution, poor drinking water supplies as well as increasing climate change impacts.

Those are considered later, as are statistics on drowning. Before that, it is important to focus on practical dangers and remedies for hot summers and cold winters.

Adults may also be able to provide help themselves, but only in a safe way described in a moment. They should also know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

It is also important to look out for boat traffic — large vessels can find it hard to see swimmers. Meanwhile, the remoteness of some places can hinder or delay rescue attempts. Other recommendations are to obey “danger” signs, never climb on or over barriers and fences, stay away from trenches and open manholes, and keep clear of equipment.

When anyone enters open water even in hot weather, several problems can quickly combine to create potentially fatal conditions. While surface water layers may be warm around the arms and shoulders, toes and feet can feel chilly as temperatures decrease swiftly with depth.

Another hazard is currents caused by water swirling around submerged obstacles or entering from hidden flows. Accumulated rubbish ranging from discarded shopping trollies and old motorbikes to broken glass can inflict wounds that may become infected if not treated properly.

Winter water safety

The autumn and winter months can bring additional rain, mud and ice to towpaths, making surfaces slippery. Recommendations from the Canal and River Trust are to plan your route and how long you expect to be away, walking with friends is safer, slow down if it gets colder with a greater the likelihood of icy and unsafe surfaces underfoot, and tell someone where you are going.

Also, stay away from water edges, check the weather, wear the right clothing, take a phone (or even a whistle), teach children not to walk on ice, try to keep to well-lit areas, and keep dogs on leads.

Staying safe

Heading to the coast — or out on any body of water — is a great way to stay active. But it is easy to get into trouble if conditions change quickly. 

The latest statistics from the Water Incident Database (WAID) revealed that 226 people drowned accidentally in the UK in 2022, with the vast majority of deaths happening during June, July and August.

Of the 226 accidental drownings in 2022, 151 were in England; 45 in Scotland; 22 in Wales; and eight in Northern Ireland. 83 per cent of those killed were male.

Recreational activities accounted for 58 per cent of accidental fatalities and inland water, such as rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs and quarries continued to be the leading locations for accidental drowning, with 60 per cent of the deaths.