When the sun is beating down and people are looking to cool off, there are a lot of good places to swim – but channels are not one of them.
Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) manages thousands of kilometres of channels across its delivery network.
These channels play a crucial role in delivering water to irrigators, however, they are not designed for recreational purposes.
GMW Water Delivery Services general manager Warren Blyth said regardless of how channels appear, swimming in them was never safe.
“From the outside, a channel may seem safe, but there are many hazards beneath the surface that people need to be aware of,” he said.
“Debris, pipes, drains, submerged trees and rocks, and strong undercurrents can be present in any stretch of channel, and pose a significant threat to anyone who swims in them.”
In the past, water flows in channels were largely controlled by the manual removal of bars from gates within the channels. However, many of GMW’s channels are now controlled remotely, with flume gates opening and closing autonomously to change water levels and flows.
This means conditions in channels can change quickly and without warning.
“Public pools are safe places to cool off, and, if supervised, certain areas in rivers and lakes can also be good areas to go for a swim. But supervised or not, swimming in channels is never safe,” Mr Blyth said.
“The only way to ensure there are no incidents in our channels is for no one to swim in our channels. We ask everyone to do the right thing and stay safe.”
More information on the dangers of swimming in channels can be found at www.g-mwater.com.au/recreation-tourism/dont-swim-in-channels