Firms offered chance to wade into inland water guidelines

Employers managing and using lakes, reservoirs and other inland water sites across the UK are being offered the chance to shape safety guidance.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) are updating the Safety at Inland Water Sites guidelines, which provide a raft of legal and safety information.

They want to hear views from those it will affect the most, from managers and operators of water sites to companies carrying out water sport, fishing and other related leisure activities.

Organisations are urged to register their views in an online consultation survey before midnight on December 7.

David Walker, RoSPA's leisure safety manager, said: “Getting feedback from people on the ground who will use this document is important to RoSPA and the RLSS UK.

“We particularly want opinions on the best way for us to proceed, what people think of the document and how useful they think it is to their organisation.”

The questionnaire addresses what extra topics organisations would like to see covered in the guidance along with any they feel could be removed.

RoSPA's current inland water safety guidance was first created in 1999 and highlights precautions and safety measures to prevent drowning tragedies on sites including canals, rivers and reservoirs.

It features advice on identifying safety hazards, legal considerations for organisations such as the Health & Safety at Work regulations, supervision of water sport activities, the drowning prevention strategy and risk control.

There were 420 water-related deaths from accidents or natural causes across the UK in 2010. As in previous years, the highest number of fatalities - 217 (52 per cent) - happened in inland waters.

For more information or queries about the consultation, email: leisurehelp@rospa.com