Kincardine, Ont. study group to address pier safety as drownings mount

It’s been nearly three weeks since a Waterloo grandfather drowned trying to save his seven-year-old grandson who was swept off of Kincardine’s pier.

It’s the most recent in a long list of drownings along Kincardine’s shoreline.

“No, nobody wants that here. We’ve had a lot,” said local citizen and water watcher, Mike Walsh.

Since 2008, six people have drowned along Kincardine’s shoreline. Almost all the drownings involved someone either jumping off of, or being swept off the town’s southernmost pier.

This is why both of Kincardine’s piers are closed, and will remain closed until a study group of local water users and experts to be launched Sept. 1 can come up with some measures to improve safety in and around Kincardine’s piers.

Kincardine, Ont.'s piers, as seen on Aug. 30, 2023, will be closed indefinitely as the municipality investigates safety improvements along its shoreline. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

“It is our desire to preserve the use of this valued asset, but we want to do it safely. We want to do it in a fashion that protects users of all sorts,” said Kincardine’s Mayor, Ken Craig.

Walsh, who received a provincial bravery citation for pulling a drowning victim from Kincardine’s waters back in 2020, believes it’s a fine line the municipality will have to walk to try and keep the pier open to the public, while trying to limit the potential liability associated with its use.

“The people in the municipality really want to find some solutions so that we can bring to attention for everybody, so that we don’t have any more drownings,” said the lifelong Kincardine resident.

“They want to come up with a friendly solution, so that people can go jump off the pier. It’s a right of passage. I remember as a kid, we did it, and all my friends did it,” Walsh added.

Six people have drowned along Kincardine, Ont.'s shoreline since 2008. Almost all of the drownings involved someone either jumping off of, or being swept off Kincardine’s southernmost pier. The municipality will launching a study group to investigate best safety measures to put in place in time for 2024 summer season. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)Craig anticipates the study group’s findings will incorporate data from the Smart Beach Program, and what other communities are doing with their piers. The recommended safety measures decided upon should be in place in time for next summer, he said, because the status quo cannot continue.

“The current that makes Kincardine one of the top surfing destinations in Canada, also causes some dangerous riptides and currents that can overcome even the best swimmers,” he said.

“We are always going to have drownings, because of the water. But, it seems to be every year, we have one or two, and that’s just a matter of watching what the water does,” said Walsh.