Is it safe to swim in the North Saskatchewan River? Experts weigh in

July 12, 2024 Canuck

As Edmontonians try to keep cool, many are flocking to the North Saskatchewan River to swim. But is it safe?

Jordan Hags says he spends hours at the river during the heat.

“I love it, there’s nothing else to do.”

Emma Wagner says she’s not concerned about swimming in the water either.

“There’s a little bit of [an undertow] but it wasn’t not manageable,” she said.

Legally there’s nothing to stop anyone from swimming in the river, but rangers encourage swimmers to be safe.

“We would advise people against swimming on the water. However, we want people to use their own judgement at the same time and use best practices and just always to be safe,” Zain Haji, a park ranger with the City of Edmonton’s marine unit, told CTV News Edmonton.

“Every time they’re getting out, we want to make sure that they’re looking at river flow rate, wherever depth wherever they are.”

Haji says the speed of the river water could be deceiving to swimmers.

“You never know what kind of surface you’re dealing with underneath because there’s two different kinds of currents, a top current and a bottom current.”

“It can be a very unpredictable body of water.”

He encourages everyone who uses the river to wear a life jacket. It’s not illegal for swimmers to go in the river without one, but anyone using an inflatable or boat without a life jacket is breaking the law.

“If you’re on a vessel, it doesn’t matter if it’s a dinghy, an air mattress to a jet boat, to a kayak to a canoe, safety equipment gear is mandatory.”

In addition to the safety aspect, there are some potential health concerns as well.

“Whenever you’re in any body of fluid and you’re swimming around there’s always the risk of there being bacteria or parasites in the water. And you can actually cause you to get quite ill if you ingest it,” Dr. Stephanie Liu of the University of Alberta and the website “Life of Dr. Mom” said.

“When you ingest it, there’s a risk for diarrhea or gastrointestinal illnesses. And whenever you get a bacteria or parasite on your skin it can cause your skin to get irritated and it can cause itching.”

Liu suggests rinsing off as soon as possible after getting out of the water to lessen the chance of skin irritation.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s David Ewasuk and Jeremy Thompson

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