By Callum Ludwig
With the weather warming up, the cool rivers around the Yarra Ranges can be an attractive prospect for a dip.
The Yarra River through Warburton, the Pound Bend Reserve in Warrandyte and Laughing Waters Swimming Hole in Eltham are all popular nearby spots for a swim but it’s important to stay safe in the water this summer.
Sean Marler spends a lot of time on the river as a kayaker from the Warburton and Alexandra River Dogs group (WARD) and said the key concern for people entering the water over the summer is a lack of understanding of the dangers that our inland rivers and lakes present.
“This is especially for people who are inexperienced, or who don’t have a basic swimming education. I can’t encourage you enough to go and learn how to swim, there are some great swimming schools in the area, doesn’t matter if you are three years old or 33 years old,” he said.
“Sadly, there are a lot of people who drown every year, and a lot of those deaths will be entirely preventable.”
According to Royal Life Saving Australia National Drowning Report 2022, 339 people lost their lives to drowning between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. An estimated 686 further people experienced a non-fatal drowning incident.
Mr Marler said there are a lot of hazards in rivers at the moment.
“Logs and trees in moving waters present a real hazard to swimmers and paddlers because if you get swept onto those logs, the force of the water can hold you in those positions and once you tire you can be held under the water and drown,” he said.
“At the end of the day, all the experience in the world won’t save you if you do end up in the wrong place. Try to mitigate the risks and be conscious of where you’re choosing to swim, check the water first by walking out and probing with a stick and try not to swim in moving water because of the risks of what’s under the water that you can’t see and keep out of those dangerous areas.”
Rivers and creeks had the highest percentage of the death count, at 34 per cent, with beaches miles off with 21 per cent in second. Swimming and recreating were the top activity at the time of a drowning incident at 22 per cent.
Mr Marler said the third consecutive La Nina event also continues to make river conditions more dangerous.
“We’ve got really saturated soils and lots of inflows in our high alpine streams like the Yarra River, which is great for kayakers, but definitely poses big problems with more water and stronger river currents,” he said.
“Find an eddy, where the water is still and guarded upstream by some sort of barrier, whether it’s a log or a rock, that is deflecting the flow into the centre of the stream into the deepest part of the river, never swim alone, always in groups and avoid alcohol or a big feed right before swimming as well.”
An eddy is an area of swirling water that forms behind an obstacle like a boulder in a river. Often the water in the eddy will reverse the direction of flow and will flow upstream. Eddies are almost always formed on the inside of the corner when a river turns a corner.
