Seqwater has recently launched a weir safety campaign to make young people aware of the dangers of swimming in fast flowing water and weirs.
Using the slogan, “No Lifeguards here” it has been designed to highlight that weirs are not patrolled or supervised. The campaign is based on educating young people to rethink their behavior and prevent future drowning tragedies. The campaign targets teens and challenges them to rethink the dangers of swimming in weirs and fast flowing water.
The campaign has been developed with input and support from Hannah’s Foundation, Australia’s leading drowning prevention, awareness and support group, Queensland Fire & Rescue, and Emergency Management Queensland (SES).
The key messages of the campaign are:
· Swimming in weirs and fast flowing water is FATAL
· It only takes ankle deep water to knock you off your feet
· It only takes 60 seconds to drown, and
· It only takes one second to rethink your decision
In addition to a mix of print, outdoor and cinema advertising, a number of warning signs that illustrate how weirs turn into ‘drowning machines’ during flood time have also been installed at weirs across the region. This material has been generously made available for other regional water service providers in Queensland and we encourage all owners of weirs to reinforce warnings about the dangers of swimming in weirs and fast flowing water.
See attached flyers for more information.
