Dams: How to stay safe?

What are dams?

Dams are structures that hold back water. They can be built from different materials but are most commonly made out of concrete, steel, timber, or earth.

Why do people build dams?

Dams Offer several advantages. They can help control floods and provide hydroelectric power, a renewable energy source. On historic canals, dams support navigation by controlling water levels and allowing navigable links bypassing natural obstacles.

What to be aware of when visiting a dam?

Getting too close to dams can be dangerous. Calm water can quickly, and without warning, become a surge of fast-moving water. This fast-moving water creates strong undercurrents that cannot always be seen from the surface and can drown even the strongest swimmer.

Signs, fences, buoys, and safety booms are there to warn you of dam hazards.

Hazard definitions

1 - Strong Currents and Undertow

Strong currents and undertow can cause anyone who enters the water near a dam to be washed downstream, through the structure, or become pinned against the structure and unable to escape.

Getting caught in an undertow or strong current can result in drowning or other fatal injuries. Steep shorelines near some dams may make self-rescue very difficult.

2 - Falling

At overflow spillways, it can be difficult to see the vertical drop that may occur at the outflow of a dam. Being washed through a dam or falling from the structure could lead to significant injuries that could even be fatal.

3 - Tripping Hazards

Tripping hazards are often located on a dam deck, but may also occur in the natural environment near a dam.

Look for hazards on walking surfaces or roadways when traveling across or near a dam.

4 - Operational Equipment

Operational equipment such as manual winches, log lifters, or stop logs, whether during staff operations or unauthorized use, can lead to minor or major injuries. Visitors should stay clear of operational equipment and Parks Canada employees who handle them. Unauthorized use could pose a public safety risk.

5 - Rapid changes in water flow and/or level

Water levels and flow change quickly near a dam. Increased water flow can cause normally dry areas to pool water, which could result in a person being stranded without an escape route or swept into strong currents.

If water levels begin to change near a dam, back away from the dam immediately.