No swimming allowed: Warning after 13-year-old drowns in irrigation canal

Government departments have warned parents not to allow their children to swim in irrigation canals.

The warning comes after a 13-year-old boy drowned on the afternoon of 15 October while playing in the water gully.  

The current in the open-air concrete channels is deceptively fast and children risk being swept away should they be overcome.

1.3 meters per second

The canal where the boy disappeared under the water is part of the Vaalharts Water User Association (VWUA), a 1,200km network of irrigation canals.  

Rescue operations were still underway in the Northern Cape on Thursday, but an employee at VWUA confirmed to The Citizen that the boy was found on Thursday. However, he was unable to elaborate on the details.

ALSO READ: Gauteng water crisis: ‘The crisis we sought to prevent has now materialised’

The main canal of the project, the largest in the southern hemisphere, stretches from the Vaal River to Warrenton the Northern Cape.

During the rescue efforts, operators opened the head sluice gates to prevent the child from getting stuck in the system.

Since the incident, the current in the canal has been moving at 1.3 meters per second, with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) saying the volume of water can increase to 100,00 cubic meters per hour.

No swimming or fishing

DWS has asked communities living near the canals not to swim or play near the canals and has also added ‘no swimming’ signs along the trenches.

ALSO READ: Young boy dies in suspected drowning incident in Soweto

Fish have also been known to breed in the canals, and authorities have asked communities not to fish in the canals.

“We urge parents and communities to keep children away from running water, as it poses endangerment to their lives,” stated DWS.

They added that public education and community awareness campaigns were regularly conducted to improve canal safety.

Operators of the irrigation system also provide training to volunteer responders to boost safety capacity.