The inviting shores of southern Ontario beaches bring the sun-seekers and those attracted to the waves, but when a drowning takes place the impact goes far beyond the immediate devastation, according to Elgin County Warden Dominique Giguère. “Just how people feel about the beach. Then there’s a risk of a love-hate relationship with this beautiful asset,” she said. Sarnia Chief Fire Prevention Officer Pete Aalbers says it also puts pressure on those in the business of saving lives. “A sense of urgency is real. We know it’s a short window of opportunity to be helpful,” he said. Both Aalbers and Giguère were among those attending the first ever Great Lakes Drowning Risk Information Summit, which took place in St. Thomas Thursday, and attracted representatives from Great Lakes communities across southern Ontario. The event, hosted by the Elgin County based RIP Current Information Project, follows an increasing number of drownings tied to rip currents- concentrated flows of water that move from the shoreline into deeper water. They are often associated with infrastructure, according to Nathan MacIntyre, of the RIP Current Information Project. “It can happen in various places. We see it 100 per cent of the time near the structures on the Great Lakes. So, any time there’s a structure on a wavy day, you should stay away from the structure. It also happens in the middle of the beach between sandbars and deep areas between sandbars,” MacIntyre explained. Municipalities are being asked to consider how they plan public areas around beaches. Chris Houser, a Dean of Science and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo, says there’s much that can be done, in terms of layout. “When they come onto a beach, they’re not paying attention to signs. They’re focused on where they’re going to sit on that beach. So the more you can have a design that forces them or moves them into a more safe area, keeps them close to a lifeguard, away from groins and jetties, away from where we know rip currents are forming, then you have that ability to reduce drownings, sometimes even more than just a warning sign or a flag,” Houser said. Event organizers believe safety policies are far too inconsistent in beach communities across the province. Their goal is to have common safety standards to help prevent drownings, and that includes consistent Great Lakes water safety language. “We can kind of work together in a cohesive way, and every beach can post the same language,” MacIntyre said. “From today and moving forward, collectively work together, coordinate, standardize, make the information accessible and clear,” stressed Giguère.
