Police urge safety on Calgary's rivers

Calgary police and bylaw officers will patrol the Bow and Elbow rivers over the weekend, looking for intoxicated rafters andpeople without life jackets.

With warm weather in the forecast, officials are anticipating hundreds of rafters will be floating down the rivers over the weekend.

The rivers are higher and faster than normal because of the runoff, and police are concerned many rafters will be intoxicated and won't be wearing life vests.

Officers will patrol the waterways in an inflatable raft over the weekend to ensure rafters are wearing personal flotation devices. A charge for failing to wear a life jacket or personal flotation device results in a mandatory court appearance.

They'll also be handing out $115 fines to people with alcohol on their rafts.

Calgary police and bylaw officials have also received numerous complaints recently about public urination, defecation, littering and drunken behaviour on and around the rivers.

"This behaviour is simply not acceptable," Andrew Bissett, who speaks for the city's bylaw department, said in a written release.

"We are extremely fortunate to live in a city with two rivers, pathways and beautiful natural green spaces. Everyone should be able to enjoy being on or near the rivers, without having their fun ruined by people who are drinking and displaying poor public behaviour."

Last year, a total of 254 citations were issued in and around the city's waterways over the summer months.

More than 3,000 warnings were delivered as officers attempted to increase awareness of safety issues.

More than 400 bottles or cans of alcohol were also seized, and several hundred people without life jackets were stopped from entering the river.