National Drowning Prevention Week comes to a close, but water safety doesn't end

National Drowning Prevention Week has come to a close, but water safety is still something to keep in mind when cooling off at a lake or beach.

Michael Melanchuk with the Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia says the prevention week falls at an important time of year.

"We're in the peak of summer, this is the time where people are trying to cool off and go outside and get in the water, and so statistically this is the week we see a lot of drowning in open water," Melanchuk said in an interview with CTV's Ana Almeida on Wednesday.

With temperatures at their highest, Melanchuk explained that more people are tempted to hop in the water—even if they aren't fully comfortable.

"It's one of the hottest weeks of the summer historically, obviously every year has a bit of differences with weather patterns but again as we approach this time in July in Canada, it's the time when temperatures are hot and people are trying to cool off. So they're going near the water and some people that might not be comfortable the rest of the season say 'you know what, it's so hot I have to get in today,'" he said.

Beaches and lakes are also a great way to keep the little ones from getting too hot during the summer, but Melanchuk said parents need to be responsive while their kids are in the water.

"A lot of parent will take their kids to the beach, we always want at least one parent or guardian to be within arm's reach, when you're within arm's reach it means that you should put your phone down for a little bit," he said.

"I know it's tempting, you want to take a picture for social media, and things like that, and I want that too, but I also want to keep my kids safe so I try to switch off between me and my wife."

Summer also means plenty of people will be hitting the water on a boat, and Melanchuk recommends wearing a life jacket even if you don't plan to swim.

"Wearing it is the most important part because the majority of people who drown were not expecting to leave the boat. When people drown in boating accidents, they weren't planning on going for a swim, they got tossed out or capsized and so it's really important that you have a properly fitted PFD on," he said.

While many people do enjoy having an alcoholic drink while out on the lake, it's recommended to wait until reaching shore before cracking one open.

"If we're on a boat there's a lot of people that say 'well I'd love to have a beverage,' but we recommend that you wait until you get back to shore. Because alcohol and other things can inhibit your ability to make choices about behaviors and so you need to have your wits about you when you're out on the water so that you can make the right choices," Melanchuk said.

Melanchuk also warns against swimming alone and says swimmers should at least go to supervised bodies of water if they plan to go in the water alone.

"We still see people that are going to swim alone, and we never want to see that, you should swim with a buddy, there's lifeguarded sites all over this province that you can go to where lifeguards can be there, if you don't have a buddy that's available to swim with you today, look for one of those lifeguarded sites."

Some people may feel confident enough not to need supervision, but Melanchuk says you never know what can happen, and even the best swimmers may eventually need one.

"The lifeguards are there to respond when people get in trouble so we really want people to go to those supervised sites. The lifeguards will be there if you need them, and we hope that you don't, but the lifeguards are there also to educate and let you know about the dangers that could be underneath the water.

"We have beautiful beaches but they also have currents and rip currents so we have to be careful," he said.

A full list of supervised beaches can be found on the Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia's website.