Spike in drownings underscore importance of water safety

A nationwide spike in the number of drownings this year, highlighted recently by 10 deaths in 10 days in Ontario, underlines the importance of caution in the water, experts say.

"The frustrating thing is there's always things you can do to prevent it," said Barbara Byers, the public education director with Lifesaving Society. "These aren't really accidents. They're preventable fatalities."

As of Wednesday, there were 187 drownings across Canada in 2010, Byers said, noting the unofficial number is tracked through media and police reports. Using the same tracking tools, there were 161 deaths by the same day in 2009.

The increase in deaths at pools is also alarming, she said. In the 10 days around the Canada Day long-weekend, 10 drowning deaths were reported in Ontario, five of which were in pools.

"In a year, normally 10 per cent are in pools, which would be one in this case. Across the land, 28 per cent of the drownings have been in pools this year," she said, noting the spate of pool deaths can probably be blamed on the heat wave.

"When it's really hot, people want to go to the closest place to cool off, which is often a pool."

In London, Ont., a near-fatality and several incidents of trespassing into public pools during after-hours prompted the city to "be more vigilant and post warnings" about swimming in unsupervised areas, Byers said. "They don't climb the fence when it's 21 degrees," she said. "They're climbing when it's 35 degrees."

During National Drowning Prevention Week, which runs from July 19-25, education programs focus on the importance of wearing a life-jacket, avoiding alcohol while swimming or driving a boat, and taking swimming lessons — especially when young.

"Some people say they can swim, but it means they can jump into the deep end and swim to the ladder. Can you swim 50 metres or tread water for a minute?" she said. "Children and toddlers aren't afraid of water. They have an almost magnetic attraction to it. But you can drown in 20 seconds. And it's silent."

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter has urged people taking advantage of the province's lakes and beaches to "be particularly careful while on or near the water."

His province accounts for the third-highest number of water-related deaths per capita in any province, behind Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia. Ontario and Manitoba take the fourth and fifth spots.

"You can see, basically, if you're in a coastal province or there's a lot of lakes, the chances are increased," Byers said.

The exception to that rule, she said, is Manitoba. "There's a big aboriginal population there, and the drowning risk in that population is six times higher than anywhere else in the country."

According to Health Canada, rates are much higher, in part, because many isolated aboriginal communities are on rivers and lakes and have less access to swimming lessons and life-saving training.