How safe is swimming in random reservoirs?

I must admit I'm not personally concerned about my abilities swimming, I would probably cross (and have crossed) open water, but I don't do it lightly. Same as I don't do other dangerous things lightly.

It IS dangerous (as is flinging yourself down a big steep hill) but it is doable if you take care. Thing is, if you get into trouble on land you just lie down for a bit – not possible on water.

Not stupid at all

Here you have the nub of the problem

I see the lads parents urging young people not to swim in open water.

How about urging young people to learn to swim properly instead?

reservoirs are different to lakes

if you swim in them it's an exercise in darwinism

triathlons etc are held in them but they are being restricted due to popularising access and swimming

propaganda for the nay sayers to shoot down

http://unitedutilities.co.uk/reservoirsafety.htm

Reservoirs? Easy. Sea, west coast of Scotland on the other hand is lethal.[/url]

coffeeking – Member

molgrips – yup, it's real, it's in ladybower res (2 of them). They're the overflow ducts that dump some mental quantity of water if it starts to rain heavily. Don't fall down them, they don't have a safety mesh as far as I know (to prevent blockages that could breach the dam) and they drop out at the bottom of the dam!

woah…..I'd love to go down one of those in a wooden barrel.

http://unitedutilities.co.uk/reservoirsafety.htm
"The temperatures in reservoirs rarely get above freezing, even in summer."

BS

Jeezo some folk on here have a very strange attitude to safety. Be aware, know he risks and take sensible decisions. The only thing that would stop me swimming if I wanted to would be if they ask you not to so as not to contaminate the water.

How do some of you ever manage to cross a road let alone ride your bikes!

Jeezo some folk on here have a very strange attitude to safety

Not at all TJ, the simple fact is that you can't put a sign up that says don't swim in here unless your are entirely competent and are prepared to accept the risks in so doing are yours and yours alone. So you will tend to find the safety bods take things to a common denominator.

So why is it a problem when you guys then go ahead and ignore that?

Best example I can give is my local reservoir, which has a visitor centre and a water sports area, but signs up everywhere else stating though shalt not Swim, boat, allow dogs to swim, jump off bridges etc. The reason? Well lots of people think its because they charge for access to the visitor centre and don't want the place to be used FOC. Thus they then ignore all the signs. In fact its becuase the water company cleared all under water obstacles in the sanctioned area when the reservoir was built. Everywhere else they are still there, and often only just below the surface. Seriously dangerous, yet totally ignored by the wussacks that jump in/swim/boat outside the designated areas. (We do manage to contribute a few to the greater good of Darwenism on a fairly regular basis!)

So the fact is that the no swimming issue is often for good cause, and even if you and your ilk are good enough to avoid the risk or prepared to accept it, (which I very much doubt frankly), all you are doing is encouraging others who aren't, to do likewise. Much like the clip I posted above.

We won't agree on it, so park it there.

So the fact is that the no swimming issue is often for good cause, and even if you and your ilk are good enough to avoid the risk or prepared to accept it, (which I very much doubt frankly), all you are doing is encouraging others who aren't, to do likewise.

I agree with the issue about encouraging others – I disagree that I'm not good enough to avoid the risk. The link somebody posted to a water company website, the video on there showing how dangerous it was had people drinking and then getting cold in the water. Given I stay sober and wear a wetsuit (unless it's warm enough I'm sure I don't need one), I don't see how this applies to me. I'm pretty convinced I can avoid underwater obstructions.

My usual swimming spot has "no swimming" notices nowadays – AFAIK largely due to people killing themselves in there. Given that all the deaths have involved alcohol I don't see how this applies to me, so ignore the signs.

utter bobbins bermbandit for loads of reasons

The vast majority of lakes and reservoirs have no sign.

as you say anyway its Darwinism in progress. Did you look at the number of people drowned wild swimming? IIRC 7 a year. 30 a year die on the Scottish mountains. Should they have " no walking" signs?

What I do and what others do is a totally separate thin. I am not responsible for them nor they for me

I don't care if the powers that be have cleared obstacles or not. I will make my own judgement about what is safe for me to do thank you very much

You need to get real and understand risk an risk assessment.Can you cross s street on your own?

TJ more people walk on the highlands than swim I assume so not a great comparison but yes everything is potentially risky.
Like you say it can be safe if you are compotent but I know someone who died in a reservoir whilst at school…depends some are more skilled than others and how do we tell I assume the unskilled are too daft to see their lack of skill so cant either assess dangers or minimise them- Dunning -Krugger defecit Level 1 * Most on here can ride stuff tham most other people [people who can ride a bike but are not cyclists] would just hurt themselves on. Do you ask them how they cross the road? We are not all equally compotent so it depends but for sure people will die every summer swimming in reservoirs as they will crossing the road…one seems easier to avoid than the other though.

*1. Unconscious Incompetence

The individual neither understands nor knows how to do something, nor recognizes the deficit, nor has a desire to address it.

Junkyard I know someone who died on the mountains. I would not attempt to stop people walking i them.

Its easy to avoid dying in the mountains – just don't go in them

Your position on swimming is untenable. Someone decides an activity is too risky despite the evidence and that means that none of us can do that activity? ridiculous

Lets put up no walking signs in the mountains. The vast majority of those who die in the mountains die from incompetence.

More folk die getting out of the bath than in resovoirs. Lets ban bathing

Sorry – completely ridiculous nanny state bollocks

TJ +1

How the **** can you compare getting out the bath to swimming in deep cold water with unpredictable under currents and under water obstacles. Even a 5 or 6 foot river can be very cold in the middle, even in the height of summer.

Kuco – you can't. Many more people die getting out of the bath each year. Bathing is dangerous

Three pages of twoddle and this is still the most convincing reason:

The biggest danger is you might have a poo and it would block my tap.

And this should lead to a banning:

Wild Swimming: 150 Hidden Dips in the Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls of Britain

Mate of mine has this book which he dips into now and again.