Our water networks are designed and maintained to a high standard with safety in mind.
Despite this, some potential hazards still remain from, for example, deep cold water in a reservoir. Below you will find some information aimed at increasing your awareness of these hazards and how you can avoid the risk of injury.
Water safety
With over 600 reservoirs across the North West they can seem very inviting to swimmers particularly on hot days after sunbathing, but cooling off in them can be deadly. Adults and children alike should be aware of the perils. Reservoirs in use have water drawn from them through pipes under the surface and there are very strong undertows created as a result.
Teenagers and young men are most at risk, according to statistics from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents that show that around 300 people drown in rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs each year.
We reach out to more than 30,000 children a year through our SwimSafe campaign, which seeks to educate youngsters about the dangers of open water, but it wants everybody to be aware of how dangerous reservoirs can be.
Further details of public safety near reservoirs can be found on our Reservoir Safety page.
Frozen Water
There are also grave dangers of walking on frozen lakes and waterways when temperatures in the UK stay around freezing, you must take extra care and keep away from frozen water during any cold snap.
We see a number of our lakes and reservoirs freeze during cold snaps and whilst they may look enticing as a skating opportunity, the ice is a very dangerous place. Temperatures in the UK don't dip anywhere near to the levels of sustained freezing needed for ice sports like it does in places like Canada, Norway or Russia. Don't be fooled by sustained low temperatures - you will be putting yourself at great risk, along with the people who may have to try and rescue you if you fall in.
In the past ten years, twenty people have drowned after falling through ice, and over 50% of these are results of attempted rescues of another person or a dog. (figures from RoSPA).
Dog owners must be careful around frozen water and not throw sticks or balls onto ice. Should a dog go onto the ice and get into difficulty don't attempt to carry out a rescue.
All our reservoirs have a shelving slope before they drop off into deeper water and it's extremely dangerous if people venture onto ice not knowing how deep the water is below them and particularly how thick - or, in most cases, how thin - the ice is they are stood on.