EMS take a near drowning victim to hospital in La Ronge last year. Derek Cornet/larongeNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Water safety

Water danger can be a surprise even for good swimmers, says RCMP’s underwater recovery expert

Jul 19, 2024 | 2:43 PM

From jumping into a dugout on the farm to swimming in a river when you’re used to a lake, even experienced swimmers can underestimate where real trouble lurks, the Saskatchewan RCMP’s underwater recovery team said.

The team is one Corporal – Jamie Diemert – who calls other officers with dive experience when police need to recover things from water, which can be anything from weapons to drowning victims.

A recent heat wave has led to five drowning deaths in Saskatchewan a matter of weeks.

“Open water swimming in a lake or a river is a lot different than swimming in a pool. You’re dealing with different temperatures, usually as well as waves and currents involved with the open waters. Even strong swimmers can get themselves into a spot where they can get in trouble,” said Diemert.

A man who drowned in Waskesiu last week knew how to swim, according to a friend that organized a GoFundMe to help return the man’s body to his home country for burial.

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“Yuren was a good swimmer, but unfortunately he went a bit deeper into the lake. Due to high water current, he panicked and started drowning,” reads the GoFundMe.

The numbers from the Coroner’s Services of Saskatchewan do no include any drownings deaths after April. (screen shot/Sask. Coroner’s Service)

Diemert said that his advice to everyone is to wear a life jacket no matter how good of a swimmer they think they might be.

Most provincial parks in Saskatchewan have lifejacket loaner stations with a variety of sizes of life jackets. People can borrow them for the day but should return them to the station before leaving.

Saskatchewan continues to swelter through a heat wave that set records in six locations yesterday alone. And, like the recent drownings, the records have been in the northern half of the province.

Buffalo Narrows was 33.2, compared to their old record of 29.5 in 1981. La Ronge was 32.6, compared to 32.2 in 1941 and Meadow Lake hit a high of 32.6, two degrees warmer than the previous record in 1967.

Uranium City was 32, a big jump compared to the previous high of 28.9 in 1955. Waskesiu reached 32.3 compared to 30.6 in 1967.

Key Lake was the hottest though, with a temperature of 32.7 and its last record set in 1989 at 32.5.

Those records might fall as well, as temperatures are expected to hit 34 degrees in the Prince Albert area on Sunday.

The forecast for Prince Albert and area for the next five days. (screenshot/Env. Canada)

“With this heat wave coming up, or even just the increased temperatures over the summer here, getting out to enjoy the water is definitely a fantastic way to cool down. And whether I would recommend swimming with a buddy at all times or even boating with a buddy,” Diemert said.

People who want to boat or swim alone should tell someone where they are going and when they will be back.

The advice to wear a flotation device extends to people on any device, human or motor powered, solid or inflatable. It is law to have a flotation device available for everyone on a human or motor-powered watercraft.

“Honestly, anytime you’re swimming in in open water, I would encourage you to consider wearing a either a life jacket or a PFD just to be able to help you. If the conditions do get worse, or if it all of a sudden you hit a sudden drop off in depth or with young children, they have to be supervised when anytime they’re in or near the water,” he said.

Watercraft should also have a rope or something to extend to a person in the water to help them out and a flashlight for anyone out after dark.

Just like the local swimming pool, children six and younger should be within arms reach of an adult at all times.

“Even strong swimmers can be surprised on how, when they do get a mouthful of water, how difficult it can be to clear that and swim at the same time,” said Diemert.

He also reminded boaters that drinking and boating is illegal as is operating a boat while under the influence of cannabis. Alcohol is not allowed on the water.

Adults supervising children swimming in rivers, ponds or dugouts on the farm need to keep in mind depth changes where people are swimming.

Dugouts can pose some serious hazards. Weeds can be extremely difficult to extricate from and Diemert said he has seen things like old farm equipment or rolls of barbed wire in dugouts.

A lot of dugouts are vee-shaped and if they have clay sides, they get extremely slippery when wet and impossible to stand up on.

A dugout with piles on the side that was created by a farmer or rancher should ring a few warning bells

“It kind of gives you a good clue that that bottom is going to be fairly steep. I know with even divers getting in and getting divers out with the side banks being very slippery, it makes it challenging,” he said.

Each year, the government declares Drowning Prevention Week to help raise awareness of water safety. This year, the week is being recognized from July 21-27, 2024.

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com