Despite drowning, B.C. city wants to keep running man-made lake without provincial safety rules

Despite the drowning death of a 12-year-old girl, the city of Dawson Creek wants to continue operating a man-made lake without adhering to provincial safety regulations that govern other constructed swimming spots, such as pools.

The city's decision runs contrary to recommendations from both theNorthern Health Authority and aB.C. Coroners Service report, which wasreleased this week.

Built in the early 1960s, the outdoor Rotary Lakehas for decades provided a free place for families in the northeastern B.C. city to gather.

While artificial swimming facilitiessuch as pools and hot tubs usuallyrequire alicenceto operate in B.C., Rotary Lake was granted a special provincial exemption in 1989.

This designation allows Rotary Lake to operate without lifeguards and without regular inspections from Northern Health, more like a naturally-occurring lake than an artificially constructed one.

That exemption was not revoked after the drowning of a five-year-old in 1994, but when a second drowning the 12-year-old girl occurred in 2016, the health authorityordered the lake drained using a Public Health Act order.

The health authority also recommended the exemption be removed, which would require several safety upgrades and ongoing inspections.

That recommendation was reiterated by B.C.'s Coroners Service in itsreport this week into the drowning.

The report found the girl drowned after her legs were sucked into a drain pipe whose cover had been removed by several children playing in the lake.

• 12-year-old drowned after being sucked into drain pipe in man-made lake, coroner finds

City staff have estimatedlosing the exemption would cost up to $500,000 in immediate upgrades,plus an additional$150,000 a year for staff and maintenance.

On Monday, Dawson Creek mayor and council unanimously endorsed a letter being sent to the province by the city's Rotary Club, asking that theexemption from provincial regulationsbe extended.

Dawson Creek Rotary Club presidentJoeHaubersaid while his heart goes out to the family of the 12-year-old, two deaths in nearly 60years is not a good reason to remove the exemption.

"There have been drownings in lakes all over B.C.," Haubertold CBCRadio Westhost Sarah Penton.

He said the Rotary club is ready to fix the identified safety issues, but he doesn't want to have to follow all the rules governing pools because it would change the nature of Rotary Lake byadding fencing and preventing people from being able to picnic on its edges.

"People of Dawson Creek want it as a public beach, they don't really want it as a swimming pool," he said. "It's a totally different venue."