City to identify ‘drop’ hazards at Britannia Beach following safety audit

A lifeguard works at Britannia Beach in Ottawa, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The City of Ottawa is implementing changes to the swimming area at Britannia Beach following an audit conducted to reduce the risk of drowning or injuries.

The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario recommended the “lifesaving audit” at city beaches last year after three people drowned at Britannia Beach between 2020 and 2023 from standing or wading close to a “drop off” area where water depth drops from two feet to 10 feet.

In July 2024, a 9-year-old boy died after being found unresponsive in the Ottawa River at the popular west end beach.

In a memo to the mayor and councillors Monday afternoon, the city’s general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services Dan Chenier says several changes have been made to better define the beach’s swimming area and to improve markings at drop off points.

The modifications include installing swimming buoy lines at least 300 millimetres from the start of the dredged swimming area and marking the sloped areas with a lane rope.

Anchored cautionary buoys will also be changed to an orange/yellow colour instead of white to enhance visibility. Larger sized buoys will be used to replace the buoy line rope used in prior years, Chenier writes.

The city engaged Stantec Consulting Ltd. to review, assess and recommend measures to address river bottom variations and sandbars in proximity to the swimming area.

“Stantec has provided the City with four options for the modification of the beach and adjacent areas. The recommended option is to reduce underwater slopes combined with the filling of the deeper zones within and near the buoyed swim area,” the memo says.

The bottom of the Ottawa River changes through the season due to the spring freshet, currents, wind and rain, leading to naturally occurring and shifting sandbars at Britannia. The city says conditions will be reviewed regularly by staff and will adjust buoy lines if needed.

Residents are encouraged to only swim within designated swimming areas.

The lifesaving audit was conducted on Aug. 7-8 of last year at Britannia, Mooney’s Bay and Petrie Island beaches. Westboro Beach was not included as it had been closed since 2022.

“Overall, the City was found to provide a reasonable standard of care,” Chenier says.

Some of the other changes this season include a new flag and signage system at all city beaches to better indicate lifeguard supervised zones and swimming areas.

• Red over Yellow flags – indicate the designated supervised swimming area
• Green flag – Lifeguards are supervising the designated swimming area
• Red flag – Lifeguards are not supervising the designated swimming area

The Coroner had also recommended the City of Ottawa consider staffing lifeguards “during daylight hours” and to conduct annual lifesavings audits at the start of every season.

The buoy line at Petrie Island (Centre East Beach) was adjusted last year to contour the river bottom inside the drop off area.

City beaches will open for supervised swimming daily from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 21 to Aug. 24.

Lifejacket loaner program

Lifejackets will be available for use at all city beaches starting this season.

Approximately 25 Transport Canada approved lifejackets in child, youth and adult sizes will be on hand during supervised lifeguard hours of operation at each beach until the end of the season.

The city says the service will be positioned in a “prominent location” at each site with staff available to provide advice on proper fitting and adjustments along with water safety tips.

Residents can also donate any new Transport Canada approved lifejacket or Personal Floatation Device (PFD), which will be inspected before they are added to the on-site inventory.

The service will be free of charge.

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