APPLICATIONS are now open for grants of between $25,000 to $250,000 for organisations to improve water safety in their community and help prevent drownings.
The Water Safety Fund Community Grants Program will prioritise initiatives that target high-risk groups and locations identified in the NSW Government’s Summer Drowning Report.
This comes after Royal Life Saving’s Respect the River campaign launched last year placed the Hawkesbury River as the second deadliest river system for drowning deaths across NSW and the fourth across the country.
Of the 22 lives lost in the Hawkesbury River since 2002, the majority were men under the influence of alcohol, the campaign stated.
In fact, 66 per cent of all deaths on the Hawkesbury River in that period involved alcohol, and 77 per cent of those had a blood alcohol reading of above 0.05 at the time of death.
The Respect the River data revealed that the majority of the recorded drownings on the Hawkesbury River were men aged 18-34, who lived locally (within a 100km radius), and were a result of swimming, boating and falls.
Only recently, a Royal Life Saving breathalysing blitz on the Hawkesbury River found half of the river users tested drank alcohol while there.
The study surveyed and breathalysed 112 people at the river at Windsor, which they hope will help target drowning prevention messages to those most at risk.
The latest Summer Drowning Report conducted during the 2017/18 summer period also found young males were a high-risk group.
Of the 36 people who drowned in NSW, males accounted for over 80 per cent of drowning deaths, drowning at a rate four times greater than females.
The highest number of deaths occurred in young people aged 18-24 years, followed by people 45-54 years.
Across the state, rivers, creeks and streams were the second most common drowning location, with beaches the most dangerous.
The Water Safety Fund Community Grants Program will focus on projects addressing risk-taking behaviour around the water involving young men, and the use of drugs and alcohol, as well as rip current awareness and beach safety.
They will also focus on taking safety precautions, such as wearing lifejackets while boating and rock fishing, highlighting the dangers of swimming at unpatrolled locations, Aboriginal communities, and CALD communities and international visitors.
Applications close at 3pm on Friday, July 27. Apply at watersafety.nsw.gov.au and search for Water Safety Fund.
Sarah Falson
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Daily Liberal journalist. I love telling people's stories. Get in touch at sarah.falson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
