Guards to be posted at Basin Head to prevent jumps and dives

A short-term ban on jumping and diving into the channel at Basin Head Provincial Park has turned into a season-long prohibition.

Starting Friday, security guards will be stationed at the popular Basin Head wharf and bridge to inform beachgoers of the ban,said provincial lifeguard co-ordinatorMatt Smith.

Smith said they have been monitoring water levels and have seen it as low as one metre in some areas during low tide.

"Any time somebody's jumping off of a height into water there's risks of broken ankles, broken legsif they're jumping feet first or if they're going head first there's potential to result in a spinal injury or a head injury," he said.

Prominent signs already warn swimmers about jumping and diving into the water at Basin Head, but are routinely ignored. Smith said they will now be stepping up enforcement.

"The approach we've used in the past is we've been educating patrons about the dangers, we've been posting our signage but nowwith the changes in the depth we feel there is such an increase in risk to beachgoers that we're moving forward in our prevention approach."

Dredged in June

In a news release Wednesday, the province said dredging was done to correct the channel at Basin Head in late June, but it had become shallow again.

ADepartment of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy spokesperson later told CBC News: "Basin Head is a very active system and the dynamics involved are very complex, making it very difficult to model or even guess what might or might not happen. We're trying to adjust Mother Nature's plans. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't."

The jumping and diving ban takes effectimmediately and will stay in effect for the duration of the 2020 summer season.

Basin Head consistently appears on lists of the best beaches on Prince Edward Island. Aswell as the channel leading from the harbour to the open ocean, it boasts "singing sands" and is located next to theBasin Head Fisheries Museum, situated on a nearbybluff.

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