When it comes to taking on the Red Deer River, people don’t always do the smartest things, say Todd Nivens and Peter Allen.
“I saw someone floating down the river on an inflatable pink flamingo last year,” said Nivens, programs co-ordinator at the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society.
“Others go out on inflatable mattresses or buy a standard inflatable, soft-shell raft at Canadian Tire and don’t make any plans about what to do if things go wrong on the river, how to react,” added Allen, an interpreter with the society.
“They think, ‘Oh, it’s just the river; it’s not overly deep so we don’t need to worry.’ ”
Wrong.
Moving water brings a heightened amount of dangers, invisible and constantly changing, from riverbed holes, boulders and sharp rocks, snagged wood and fallen trees.
Safe Communities Central Alberta, along with numerous community partners including Red Deer County Emergency Services and the Canadian Red Cross, is working to bring river users up to speed this summer when it comes to the risks involved and how to be more prepared.
They kicked off their summer of water safety program in conjunction with the launch of Safe Communities’ Spring into Safety-Events week on Monday at Fort Normandeau.
More signs will be posted and brochures and raft/boat safety checklists will be handed out, in addition to random enforcement checks, said Richard Hornby, executive director of Safe Communities Central Alberta.
“This is about having more individual contact, starting a direct dialogue. . . . The real problem is there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to being aware and being prepared on the river,” he said.
Most people, for example, don’t remember to take rope, a whistle or sounding device or even sunscreen when they hit the water, he said.
“We have borderline hypothermics show up here all the time, during the warmest time of the day, including two guys last weekend,” said Nivens.
“They put in at Penhold, show up here at Fort Normandeau with a blown inner tube, tired, cold and dehydrated. . . . They don’t have extra towels or clothes, either. Totally unprepared.”
It’s a regular occurrence to see many stranded after the river takes a chunk out of their rafts, he said.
The river isn’t like a lake that warms up as it’s always being fed through a source, said Nivens.
On average, there is at least one group of rafters needing assistance every two weeks or so, said Allen.
According to the Red Cross, 200 people will die across Canada this summer while boating — this includes inflatable watercraft and canoes. Eighty-seven per cent of those will drown because they’re not wearing or not properly wearing a flotation device.
Hornby said he’d like to eventually see a life-jacket handout station down by the river where those who forget their own can borrow one for the day.
Additionally, the group wants to spread the word about the dangers of boating and rafting impaired.
The Lifesaving Society Alberta and Northwest Territories reports that 64 per cent of all adults who drowned while boating were impaired by either alcohol or drugs.
“Driving drunk, boating drunk, your judgment is impaired,” said Noralee Peters, Canadian Red Cross water safety program representative for Alberta.
Impairment makes it even more difficult to navigate your way around an oncoming bridge pole in a strong current, she said.
There were no serious water incidents on the river last year, said Hornby, and they’d like to see that pattern continue.
Safe Communities and their partners will be hosting a “party” at the departure point at Fort Normandeau on June 30 and Aug. 25. There will be fun activities, prize draws and interactive dialogue about sobriety and water safety. On July 28, another one of these parties will be hosted at the fort’s landing point.
For more information on water safety, visit www.lifesaving.org.
For more information on other upcoming Spring into Safety-Events, visit centralalberta.safecommunities.ca.
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com