Water safety in the rural environment

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Dangers associated with open water spaces such as lakes, rivers, canals etc should, in most cases be obvious to people at work and to members of the public. However, what do employers and owners of land need to consider to ensure they are doing all that can be reasonably expected for the protection of these people?

Perhaps the greatest risk to people at work in the presence of open water spaces is from vehicles, tractors, plant etc running/ overturning into water, trapping the person inside the vehicle. In these sorts of situations, risk assessments for the work activity needs to include drowning risks and measures to reduce these risks. In 2004 two agricultural contractors drowned when their tractor overturned into a canal. Both were trapped inside the cab in water around 2 metres deep.

Some of the risk control measures to consider for people operating plant and equipment include:

• Making sure that plant is appropriate for the job and that the cab has at least two means of escape.
• Making sure that routes to be traveled give a margin of safety from the edge.
• Ensuring bank edges and embankments are stable for any work at the edge, especially when using heavy plant. Seek professional help if necessary.
• Avoiding reversing adjacent to water and ensuring turning areas adjacent to water are suitable and if necessary, adequately protected.

For people working on the banks of open water spaces, who may be operating equipment such as strimmers, measures to consider would include:

• Wearing of life jacket or buoyancy aid if water is deep/ fast flowing or perhaps if person is working alone or some distance from colleagues.
• Provision of rescue aids such as throw lines or life rings.
• Awareness of water safety and what to do in an emergency
• Awareness of risks, albeit low, from water borne diseases such as leptospirosis
• Additional precautions for working alone

Land owners need also to consider their duties towards members of the public who may enter their land either by invitation or by exercising a public right; or even whilst trespassing. In these cases, it may be appropriate to consider providing protection for members of the public against falls into water or to protect those who may enter the water voluntarily.
 
Considerations for protective measures would include:

• Signs and notices giving warnings or prohibitions
• Edge protection, fences or other means of marking edges/ boundaries eg shrubs
• Means of self rescue, grab chains, ladders etc
• Rescue equipment, throw lines or life rings

Further factors for consideration would include:

• How likely is it that a person may get into difficulty such as from an unexpected fall?
• What would the consequences be of such a fall?
• Is the area an attraction to children and should there be clear indication that the area is out of bounds?
• Are there any dangers which are not obvious?

One particular problem area for land owners is with members of the public using the water for swimming. Where this is likely to occur and especially if it is an area known to attract people, land owners would be expected to take reasonable steps to discourage the activity. Signs and notices would be the first consideration but in more extreme situations the use of wardens may be an appropriate measure.

Further information and publications

The Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group  (VSCG) provide useful information in relation to a land owners duties for protection of the public For case studies, information relating to occupiers liability and details of their publication.

David Bell

IOSH Rural Industries Group Committee member