Don’t Get Sucked In

Swimming or diving in irrigation channels is extremely dangerous. On hot summer days irrigation channels might look cool and inviting, but there are many hidden dangers. NEVER dive into or swim in irrigation channels. Design and colour-in your own poster

Don’t get sucked in by your friends and you won’t get sucked in by the treacherous undercurrent. Be smart – swim at your local pool or patrolled beach.

Siphons

A siphon is a pipe that allows an irrigation channel to continue under roads, railways and rivers. These pipes can be really big – more than a metre wide. Often you can’t see them because they’re hidden under the surface of the water.

When the water travels through the pipes, it can create a powerful sucking action in the channel.

Though the surface of the water may look safe, there can be a strong undercurrent below that even the best swimmers can’t escape, no matter what precautions they take.

Anyone who gets in the water near the siphon inlet (the mouth of the pipe) risks being very badly injured. Swimmers can be pinned underwater against the protective screens.

The flow of water and the strength of the undercurrent around the siphon changes all the time without warning. It’s NEVER safe to swim in an irrigation channel, especially near a siphon.

Regulator gates

Regulator gates are metal gates that control the flow of water between different parts of irrigation channels. Most of the time these gates work all by themselves, without anyone watching them.

Each regulator weighs as much as three tonnes. When they move, they can trap a person, even an adult, under the water and hurt them very badly.

Regulator gates are often protected by metal structures. Sometimes people go into the structures without permission and even vandalise them, which makes the irrigation scheme more expensive for everyone.

Other dangers

There are many other dangers around irrigation channels for people who do not follow SunWater directions:

• snakes, rats and other harmful animals often live in and around the channels
• people, especially kids, can get tangled in channel weed
• the water in irrigation channels can be harmful to people. It is safe to use to irrigate fields, but it might contain chemicals or algae that would make anyone who drank it or swam in it sick
• people can trip on the slippery banks or mossy rocks and hurt themselves really badly
• the depth of the water is constantly changing in the channels, so diving or jumping into the water can cause very bad back injuries.

Back to top