Now that the water level in Chestermere Lake is up to summer depths, Chestermere’s RCMP are reminding boaters to be safe and share the lake this summer.
“I know there’s a lot of people that are excited about getting their boats back in the water and enjoying our lake,” said Chestermere RCMP Detachment Commander Staff Sgt. Mark Wielgosz.
Along with resident’s excitement, Wielgosz said that there is likely to be a higher usership of the lake this year.
“We’re seeing higher numbers year over year,” he said, “ultimately we want to make sure that, with the significant use of our lake, everyone’s equally able to enjoy it.”
From a policing perspective, Wielgosz said they are looking to minimize dangerous behaviours and ensure all boaters have the appropriate safety equipment.
“We don’t see any incidents on our lake this year,” he said.
To help keep everyone safe this year, police will be patrolling both the lake and the boat launch.
Wielgosz said that they will be out on the lake at a minimum every other weekend and randomly in the evenings.
The will also be at the boat launch checking to ensure all users of the lake have the required equipment and operator’s licenses.
“Meaning that they’ve got a pleasure craft operator’s license that meets with the vessel requirements that they’re operating,” said Wielgosz.
They’ll also be checking to ensure there is no impaired operation of boats on the water.
“We want to make sure there’s no liquor consumption on the lake because again while it may be an enjoyable practice while your out enjoying the sun and on the water that doesn’t contribute to safe boating operation,” said Wielgosz.
And, while there are currently no laws against distracted boating, Wielgosz strongly discourages the practice, especially with the number and variety of users expected on the lake this year.
“Just be mindful of your surroundings,” he said.
For those who enjoy water skiing and other forms of recreation that involve towing people behind the boat, Wielgosz recommends using a spotter so that the boat operator can stay focused on his primary job, safely driving the boat.
“You want to make sure that again the boat operator can focus on where he’s driving,” he said, “and then you have a spotter who can monitor the people that are in the water.”
Since Chestermere Lake attracts all types of water craft from sail boats, to power boats, to canoe’s and other manually powered craft, it is important to be aware of and courteous to other lake users.
“Its just a matter of giving proper distance between vessels if you’re a powered vessel approaching one that’s manually operated or a sail boat, keep your distance because you’re creating a wake and that’s going to cause some difficulties for those other persons and their vessels,” said Wielgosz.
If something does go wrong on the water, Wielgosz said that the more information boaters can provide to 911 operators the better.
“Try to find some sort of land mark that they’re close to that we can narrow down where we’re responding to,” he said.
“We’re fortunate in the sense that our lake isn’t too terribly big that we can’t find people if they’re in trouble,” said Wielgosz.
“If you don’t have your required safety equipment such as throw lines, or an anchor, or even life jackets for that matter, you’re…putting yourself and others at risk,” said Wielgosz.
