In a response to drowning incidents that occurred in 2012 at two separate aquatic facilities in Edmonton, the city is now looking into the use of underwater cameras in public pools.
Although underwater cameras are not uncommon in the pool environment, they are not necessarily used in Canada to prevent drownings. This comes after a city recommendation that children under the age of 8 who have not passed a swim test wear life jackets at its public pool facilities.
According to a Metro News report, although cameras could potentially assist lifeguards in today’s more complex modern pools, Barbara Costache, chief administrative officer with the Alberta and Northwest Territories chapter of the Lifesaving Society says cameras can also be a critical distraction.
As a drowning prevention tool; however, cameras could be used to alert lifeguards should a problem be detected.
The Lifesaving Society does not fully support the use of cameras as a drowning prevention method as the group says they can trigger false alarms which could be detrimental to public safety.
“The problem is we have a distracted society, and technology is a part of that distraction,” said Costache in the report. “These technologies have been tested and known to fail. We don’t want lifeguards to be distracted by having to always monitor for an alarm or an image.”
