Water Safety: Accident Prevention and Risk Management

Water Safety: Accident Prevention

Speaking about the prevention of water rescue, one must refer to actions that are in place to prevent the occurrence of accidents. Fortunately, these actions are much more common than lifesaving.

Causes of Aquatic Accidents

In general, accidents can be attributed to:

• Access to risk.
• Ignorance, neglect, or underestimation of risk.
• Lack of resources for prevention and intervention (lifeguard, signs, information boards, etc.).
• Inability to cope with the difficulties encountered.

Principles of Aquatic Accident Prevention

Establishing an effective prevention system in a particular aquatic environment involves the proper development of the following principles:

• Identification of risks.
• Control of risks.
• Elimination of risks.

Risk Identification

Establishing a recognition of risks in the aquatic environment in which we carry out our work is the first step to prevention.

Risks are related to:

• The characteristics of the aquatic environment.
• The activities that take place.
• The behavior of people who are in it.

Some risks are common to different aquatic environments, while others are specific to a type of environment (pool, water park, beach, etc.).

Characteristics of the aquatic environment that can be considered as risks include: deep areas, slippery slopes, inlet and outlet areas, blind spots, unsupervised areas, areas with no information or prevention posters, certain weather conditions (e.g., heatwaves, storms, etc.), water conditions (temperature, clarity, etc.), user flow volume, etc. In swimming pools, elements such as stairs, steps, ramps, corners, trampolines, platforms, and slides are also considered risk factors.

Regarding activities in the aquatic environment that can be considered risky, it is worth noting: diving in shallow or unknown depths, apnea, and diving in waters with little clarity. In addition to swimming, the practice of dangerous games, racing, the use of certain materials, and recreational platform games can also pose risks.

With respect to risks related to user behavior, these include: prolonged exposure to sunlight or intense activity followed by rapid entry into the water, eating heavy meals, alcohol or drug consumption, and over-confidence.

People who may be more prone to risk are young children, the elderly, people with health problems (heart, respiratory, epilepsy, etc.), the physically and mentally handicapped, and people who underestimate the risk.

Risk Control

The aim is to reduce the likelihood of an accident, and the basic steps to take are:

• Establish recommendations and standards of conduct.
• Establish checkpoints.

These measures will act mainly through education and information.

Development and Evaluation of Preventive Measures

The development shall take place within the following sequence:

• Identification of risks.
• Risk assessment (grade and potential).
• Identification of preventive actions and intervention.
• Evaluation of possibilities of implementation of preventive measures and intervention.
• Formalization of conclusions.