Today is the start of National Drowning Prevention Week in Swift Current and in Canada.

According to the 2017 Saskatchewan Drowning Report prepared by the Drowning Prevention Research Centre which has data from 2010 to 2014, daily living incidents (49 per cent) accounted for a high proportion of drowning fatalities in Saskatchewan. Over half (52 per cent) of these deaths occurred during motor vehicle travel. The next most common daily living activity was bathing (16 per cent). 

In Saskatchewan, recreational activities (40 per cent) accounted for the second-highest proportion of drowning fatalities. Among these, the most common primary activity was swimming (31 per cent), followed by fishing (18 per cent), powerboating (16 per cent), walking/running/playing near water (14 per cent), riding an ATV, diving and jumping (four per cent). 

Land, ice or air transportation (34 per cent) continued to be the most common type of activity that victims were engaged in prior to drowning. This was followed by non-aquatic activities, (21 per cent), and aquatic activities where the victim intended to be in the water and something went wrong (19 per cent), and boating-related deaths (15 per cent).

Melissa Shaw, aquatic superintendent at the City of Swift Current, said that in Canada over 400 people drown annually, with 26 of those occurring in Saskatchewan. 

"A toddler playing near water without adult supervision, adults choosing to mix boating and alcohol, an individual misjudged their ability to swim a long distance, people fish and neglect to wear an FSD (flotation safety device) properly and the greatest tragedy is that these incidents are preventable."

The Fairview Pool will be holding special activities to promote water awareness every afternoon starting on Sunday all the way to Saturday.

"Some of these activities will including a junior lifeguard day, swim to survive the day, water-smart day, boat smart day, don't break the ice day," Shaw said. "This year we would like to challenge everyone in the community to come out and try and swim to the service standards which is to roam in deep water, tread water for one minute and swim 50 meters on the July 22."

Shaw said there are a few simple tips that residents can do to make sure that they stay safe. 

"We encourage all residents of Swift Current and the surrounding area to be aware of the importance of water safety when utilizing the Fairview Pool, the Swift Current Creek, Lac Pelletier, Duncairn Damn, Saskatchewan Landing, and all other surrounding bodies of water," she said. "We encourage everyone to know the areas that they are swimming in, including the depths, water currents, weather forecasts, and if there is a designated swimming area." 

Lakes and ponds claimed the greatest number of lives with almost half of all water-related fatalities occurred in this setting (41 per cent), river and streams sat next (20 per cent), followed by drowning deaths in man-made settings such as bathtubs (9 per cent), ditches and culverts (8 per cent), and pools (3 per cent).