Hello all

I am looking for a bit of advice/information with regards to boating lakes.

I have been searching to see if there is any legal requirement for Lifeguards to be present during hours of business. Would signage, bouyancy aids and age restrictions be sufficient to justify the absence of a Lifeguard? Are there any of you who have boating lakes and how do you manage the drowning risk?

Thank you in anticipation of your replies.

Hi Saferay

I hope I can offer some additional information (offered in a combined H&S professional and Beach Lifeguard Trainer capacity).

There is no general legal requirement to provide lifeguards in open water locations - otherwise every beach in the land and loch/lake would have them (Local by-laws may exist).

As you suggest there are "hours of business" then there is, as you know, a duty to do the risk assessment and determine what controls you will need.

There are a few bits of civil case law out there that will help understand the "civil expectations" and there are good publications from the likes of ROSPA that explore good practice in terms of operating open water locations. (A few bits of case law on signage and supervision relating to those that have dived into shallow water and suffered spinal injury)

Whilst it is unlikely that a "simple boating pond" will ever require a professional lifeguard patrol (I am available for a small fee!) it is perhaps advisable that those working to provide the boats and other services around the lake are suitably aware and trained to be able to respond to an emergency (eg a capsize or perhaps someone taking unwell whilst padding a boat).

Assuming you have taken on board the observations/ suggestions of Tomkins26432 above then anyone entering the water will have lifejackets (youngsters) and/or buoyancy aids (adolescents/adults) so the immediate risk to life has been minimised and the folk that hire the boats or operate the food stalls etc can be used to enact the procedures for returning folk to shore and recovering the boat etc.

Incidentally most boating ponds are not that deep, so most adults will be able to stand up (that said the debris on the bottom of the pond is probably going to be a challenge).

Some basic rescue training is probably all that would be needed - look at the National Water Safety Management Programme for some ideas - it combines risk assessment training for activities in and around open water with basic rescue skills and is modularised to give people an option to only use modules that are relevant. (other awards are available!)

If you can get yourself (or another relevant person) onto this type of course then they will have specific skills for risk assessing open water activities (with rescue skills as a bonus) and more importantly a better understanding of the options that might exist for the training of those that might act as first responders to an incident on the pond.

As mentioned above signage and a good management system for the activities undertaken is probably all that will be needed when combined with some relevant training for those that are expected to respond.

Your response training could simply be to phone 999 and get the Fire Service to attend - but I suspect you would want to do more than that - headlines about "staff standing by whilst capsized boaters drown" or "untrained staff drown trying to save capsized boaters" will not be pleasant reading.

that is my tuppence worth - I hope you find a good and useful way forward

Stuart