Water safety plea from mum after son's reservoir death

BBC News

20-04-2025

The mother of a 15-year-old boy who drowned in a reservoir has said the impact on the family has been "indescribable". Maxine Johnson's son Reuben died while swimming with friends in Pontsticill Reservoir in Bannau Brycheiniog in 2006.She has joined calls from Welsh Water warning people about the dangers of unauthorised swimming in reservoirs.The rate of accidental drowning in Wales is almost double that of the UK as a whole, according to the National Water Safety Forum.
Reuben was camping with friends and celebrating after finishing his GCSEs when some decided to swim across the reservoir."The Saturday it was extremely hot weather," recalled Ms Johnson."They were only wearing shorts, they had no other protective clothing and, unfortunately, cold water shock got to Reuben about three quarters of the way across."
Reuben's mother said one his friends "tried his best to help him". "When they finally got to the other side the boys looked back and Reuben has disappeared."It took three days to find Reuben's body, and that memory still lives with his mother."The impact of it is indescribable," she said. "It's like you've had your heart ripped out."I want to make sure that other parents, other children, other young people, can listen to the message. "Reuben didn't know, so we want to spread the message for Reuben, think twice where you're going, where you're swimming."
People are being warned over the Easter holidays that they are risking their lives by swimming, paddleboarding or even entering reservoirs without proper permission or safety precautions.Some reservoirs contain automatic machinery operating below the surface and have strong currents which can pull under the strongest swimmers.
Cold water shock
People are also being warned about the freezing temperatures in many reservoirs.Anything below 15C is defined as cold water and can seriously affect people's breathing and movement, so the risk is significant most of the year.Cold water shock causes gasping and uncontrolled breathing as the body tries to keep warm and the muscles in limbs will cool, which reduces strength, coordination and the ability to swim.
There are several reservoirs where supervised swimming is allowed, including:Lisvane & Llanishen reservoirs, CardiffLlyn Brenig reservoir, Denbigh MoorsLlandegfedd reservoir, Pontypool"Not all reservoirs are designed to be swam in," warned Daniel Dicomidis, a senior activity instructor at Lisvane & Llanishen reservoirs.
"Most reservoirs in the country are stores of water, there's lots of heavy machinery under there creating currents. They're very deep, so how cold they are, relative to how warm the day may be, is very surprising," he said.Swimmers are being warned there is a reduced chance of being rescued in some remote locations in Wales because of little or no mobile reception.On average, nearly 50 people die every year in Wales because of water-related incidents, according to Welsh Water.Chris Cousens, chairman of Water Safety Wales, said: "With the lovely weather we've been seeing, we know how tempting it can be to cool off in beautiful reservoirs. "But even the strongest of swimmers can go into cold water shock and this can lead to drowning."He said, if you do find yourself in difficulty, "relax and float on your back with your ears submerged in the water until the effects of cold water shock pass - you can then swim to safety or shout for help."
Ms Johnson said: "For us as family and friends he's missing from so many things, so many events, photographs, memories. "We carry on with our lives but when I see perhaps one of his friends has had a child or they reach a certain milestone, that's particularly difficult. "So it's really important to keep Reuben's memory alive as well through doing what we're doing."The impact has also affected the boys who were with Reuben on that day."It's impacted them in different ways over the years," she said."They never, ever thought something like that would happen."