Parents and other caregivers are being urged to brush up on water safety as we approach the summer season. Carl Shier, Chief Executive Officer of the Lifesaving Society of Manitoba says drownings in Manitoba have dropped almost fifty per cent in the past ten years. But there are still an average of 20 each year which he says is just too many. Shier says children require undivided attention around water.

"Supervision of children or lack thereof was the cause in about 88% of the deaths for under 5 year-olds. There's that natural attraction for them to be around water, to go to water, and supervision is so important. We do a lot of education programs. We call it 'Within Arm's Reach' and it's so important to keep these youngsters very close by and under constant supervision."

That's one of the reminders Shier is putting out during this National Summer Safety Week, sponsored by the Canada Safety Council. He has another key reminder this time of year for people heading out fishing and camping.

"That water is going to be extremely cold at this time of year. There are going to be high water levels. Often river flows, stream flows are much faster than normal. Shorelines can be unstable. There are a lot of variables. We want people to get out and enjoy those outdoors but, around water, think about their safety."

Meanwhile, Mervin Dueck of Rosenort has been advocating for better water safety ever since his son Calvin got caught in seaweed and drowned at St. Malo beach two summers ago. He has convinced the parks people in St. Malo to bring back life preserver rings on shore with the added feature of being connected to a loud horn that goes off when one of the rings is removed from its post to alert everyone to an emergency. Dueck notes the long term plan is that, in the coming years, a call will also be triggered to park staff to bring help as fast as possible. He adds there's another initiative he would also like addressed.

"One of the things that I'm still pushing for is the whole seaweed issue at St. Malo and also other lakes and even to just include seaweed as a hazard when they teach swimming lessons. There's some reluctance to do that. I'm not sure exactly for what reasons but that is the one front we're still working on."

Shier concludes by saying drowning is very preventable and education is the number one thing.

Read more:

St. Malo Adds Safety Measures To Beach

More Lifesaving Tips:

http://lifesaving.mb.ca/