Mandatory water safety course for Mahogany residents after 3 drownings in less than a year

After three young people drowned in Mahogany Lake in less than a year, the homeowners association is stepping up safety measures, including introducing a mandatory water safety course. 

But some residents of the southeast Calgary community worry more needs to be done to prevent another tragedy. 

Two young men drowned in Mahogany Lake last August. Earlier this month, a 12-year-old boy drowned after jumping from a dock into the water. 

The Mahogany Homeowners Association held its annual general meeting Monday, where the board discussed its response to the drownings. 

As of July, new residents signing up for lake access will be required to take a free water safety course. Existing members will have until July of next year to complete the course and submit their certificate to the association if they want to use the lake. The course is provided by the Lifesaving Society.

“Our life-saving Water Smart Advocate Course is your basic know-how course for all things kind of rudimentary water safety,” said Madison Lalonde, interim managing director for the society’s Alberta and Northwest Territories branch. 

“Drowning happens in seconds, and often it happens in silence.” 

Water so cold ‘it shocks you’

At 25 hectares, Mahogany Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the city. More than 180,000 people came through the gates last year, according to the homeowners association.

The lake plunges as deep as nine metres. 

Resident Melanie Jardine says the water is murky and very cold. 

“I’ve swam in it and, like, it shocks you,” Jardine said. 

She said once, after her daughter jumped off the dock while wearing a life jacket, her legs started cramping within a minute due to the cold.

“Cold water shock is a real thing, and it happens very frequently, even in the summer,” said Lalonde. “It can affect your limbs, your cognition, so you would not be able to self-rescue as well as you normally would be able to in, like, a pool setting.” 

The homeowners association is adding more signs signalling how deep the lake is, among other warnings. 

Jardine would like to see signs that warn about the water temperature. She says the idea of removing the dock was also discussed at the AGM.

Life jackets and lifeguards

Mahogany Lake, like other community lakes in Calgary, does not have lifeguards. Jardine says there has been a lot of talk among residents about changing that. 

But she knows that comes with challenges. Adding lifeguards would increase homeowner fees, she says, and that would likely prompt pushback. There have also been lifeguard shortages in the province. 

WATCH | Calgary fire department stresses water safety after drownings in Mahogany Lake:

Calgary fire department stresses water safety after drownings in Mahogany Lake

Two men were found dead in the southeast Calgary lake on Wednesday. Emergency response crews are urging people to be prepared and take precautions ahead of what they say could be a busy weekend on the water.

Ivan Sorensen has lived in Mahogany Lake for more than a decade. He says the drownings have left him feeling “traumatized” and afraid to bring his family to the lake. 

He would like to see life jackets made mandatory for swimmers of all ages outside of the roped-off swimming zone. Right now, life jackets are mandatory for boaters and paddleboarders under city regulations. 

And he’s calling for safety experts to conduct an independent review of Mahogany Lake to examine if there are issues specific to the body of water that have possibly contributed to the drownings. 

“We’re right at the beginning of the summer season and, you know, everybody in Mahogany, we want to see no further tragic losses in our lake,” Sorensen said. 

The Mahogany Homeowners Association declined to comment, and instead pointed to its website for the latest updates on lake safety. 

At the end of the day, Jardine says she understands swimmers will need to assume some risk.

“Mahogany is a massive community. It’s hard to implement stuff and patrol what everyone’s doing,” she said. “I think [the association is] doing their best, and I think people just need to be aware, like, this is a lake. It’s a danger, you know? It’s a body of water, and we need to respect it.”