Why Quarry Lakes Can Be Killers

Mineral Products Association, Kent Fire and Rescue Service and Lafarge Tarmac's Sevenoaks Quarry explain the hazards associated with swimming in quarry lakes. The impact of cold water is highlighted as the Fire and Rescue Service demonstrate a rescue.

[_kieranwilliams]

If you find yourself in very cold water, then the best thing to do is to try swim on your back, it will save your life

[disxrupt]

My heart goes out to you and your family i lost my cousin yesterday in the worcestershire quarry he went out with his friends like a normal day he jumped in once and got out fine he jumped in the second time but at a higher side of the quarry and struggled to get out im in so much shock that we lost our cousin i feel like its all a dream stay safe guys and dont jump in quarrys theyre killers and are so dangerous please stay safe guys❤

[frankcain]

Thank you for explaining why people are dying in these quarries I just watched several videos and I just wasn't understanding why so many people are dying in these quarries but finally your video has explained good video thanks

[richardsandwell]

People just need to exercise caution, I swim outdoors all the time, the sea is cold but people still swim in it, and the sea has rip currents. Other countries like Germany create nice swimming areas from old quarries.
In the UK we just rob the ground of its mineral wealth and create YET ANOTHER PAY TO FISH LAKE.
Accidents and drownings have always happened, they happen every year around the coast, but we do not fence off the beaches and put up warning signs of deep cold water.
It is more about people being careful if you do not think you can adapt to cold water stay out.
My body adjusts within about two minutes and then I enjoy my swim. You have to be careful not to swim underwater or dive into water where you do not know the depths, you must first check for underwater obstructions.
The quarry I swim in has underwater branches and hazards but with care, it is very safe.
If you are not confident swim with a
buddy or swim with a line attached to a float.
Be cautious before the water temperatures have time to increase and the thermocline gets established in summer.
The place I swim actually got too warm for me in summer, I had to go to a spring-fed oxbow lake for a cooler swim.
Swimming under the influence of drink or drugs is stupid, do not do it!
Take a picnic, but do not expect to eat a massive meal and then be safe in the water.
Most importantly of all, create goodwill with landowners by taking all your litter home with you in a bag, no exceptions.

[nigel]

Cold water?...  nothing unusual,   Deep water?... not uncommon,   Branches and debris near waters edge?...  every swimming hole has them.  Unsupervised and unattended 15 year old's?  Now that's the problem.

[MrThenry]

We had a gravel pit within 10 miles of where I grew up. We were there a bunch. We heard of underwater currents, large fish and a bunch of other excuses not to go there to swim. I do remember one guy that drowned there. I didn't know him as he was older. 30 something I think. He tied a heavy thing to himself and carried it off a ledge everyone knew of. 30 feet on the bottom is where they found him. My babysitter would not let us go there the next day and we missed the recovery. She knew him and cried all morning about how the under current must have got him.

I'm talking 1983 ish.

[RyanJones]

When he said there's a 100 ft drop off of the shallow edge and you wouldn't be able to pull yourself back up I fucken got chills in my body. So scary

[Meggsie]

When the water is that ripply there is also a current. I once swam by myself in a lake and didn't pay attention and was carried down towards the dam and had to swim against the current back to shore. I was so fatigued when I got out of that water, I knew if I had been in the water any longer I would have drowned. So I don't swim by myself anymore.

[betsycollins]

It seems to me that there needs to be better regulation of how these quarries can be left before digging stops for good. Are there not patterns of excavation that prevent leaving dangerous outcroppings or submerged equipment behind?

[mrxd]

why not blow out the sides and make a safe swimming area. seems to me the government is just cheap and careless. Here in canada many quarries get one side "dropped" in so that there is a nice swimming area.

[SuperNova-pyec]

We have a problem with people swimming in the lakes and quarries near our house. Despite the signs and the fact someone sadly drowned in the lake last year it does not seem to get through to people on how dangerous it is. This doesn’t even account for what kinds of illnesses can be caught from the blue/ green algae. I think people really believe they are super human and it won’t happen to them.

[DEVINE.IMAGE.]

I dive these quarrys and can tell you even in summer the water can be very cold and some quarrys in the uk are 80 to 100 meters deep once you start sinking you will be dead way before you hit the bottom

[bindig]

Quarries are spring fed. Extremely cold beneath the surface. Diving down is where people get in trouble

[hagencarter]

Ada Haden Lake in Ames, Iowa was once a quarry and has since been converted into a nature park with prairies, wetlands, bike trails, and the lake itself, which people bank fish, kayak on etc. But motorized boats and swimming are against the law there. And the water there is at it's deepest around 40 feet I think. Interestingly, the lake also serves as a backup water source for the city

[qbconnect]

Stagnant water surrounded by natural stone will stay cold basically year round. Probably colder than the ocean on the same days. Plus there's more gravitational pull in quarries because of the vacuum of dead space

[hcppch]

I've been swimming there and it was great but it is true about the ledges not so much the cold water though (if you go on a hot day). there is about 1.5m of sloped rock to stand on and then a sheer drop.

[creatureconnor]

As an avid cliff jumper, this video was really well made. Most news videos out there just bring some annoying Karen news reporter onto the scene who always chalks it up to the same stereotype, and have a lot of misinformation. They say it's dangerous and stupid blaw, blaw, blaw, but they never accurately explain why it's dangerous.

[davidwells]

Tale is you can dive in at flat rock at the Ketona rock quarry in Birmingham Alabama. And come up at the other end of the quarry without ever surfacing due to currents. I have seen a umbrella post shoot out at around 10+ feet due to currents at flat rock in 83'...

[herbsfood]

I worked at Whataburger with a young man who was just 18 who died in one of these swimming with his friends something got wrapped around his foot his friends weren't able to make it to him in time

[rafox]

The trick is to stay horizontal and lay on your back, keep your feet out of the deep because the water is colder there and your legs could cramp. And just use common sense so don't swim too far out, remember that you also have to swim back to the shore.