Finding safer ways to
manage and enjoy water
About
The purpose of the Water Incident Research Hub is to collate, structure and make available the occupational health and safety expertise from within the Sport, Health, and Physical Activity sector. The Hub has a UK focus, although aspects of the Hub reach beyond this.
The Hub was started in 2020 as a life project, with the aim of continuing to fulfil the purpose of the Hub over several decades. I hope the Hub provides a platform for the growth of occupational health and safety expertise from within and outside the sector for many years.
A tenant of the Hub is that we only publish information in the public domain. The Hub's contribution is to collate this information, give it structure and make it available in an accessible format to a UK and International audience. We make an exception to this general tenant when families contact the Hub to share or clarify information in the public domain. These stories are critical to our vision of a world that can enjoy and manage water safely through supporting education and other professionals with their development.
Our initial focus was on swimming pool safety, which has now broadened to all aquatic environments. As part of the work on swimming pool safety, several resources were created on the Hub to support the RLSS UK National Pool Management Qualification. We are open to suggestions about resources that may be useful to others and align with our purpose and vision. We hope that you find the Hub useful, and we welcome any feedback you may have for us.
Datasets
We curate unique datasets most of which are not available on our site and share these with our industry partners to help inform guidance and qualification development in the aquatic sector
Global Accidental Drowning Fatality Database
This database tracks the accidental drowning fatality data across all water body types in 34 countries worldwide from 1994 to date
UK Citizen Drownings Overseas
This database tracks the drowning of UK citizens overseas and presently includes the following datasets:
- FCDO data 2018-2022
- Spain dataset
- Portugal dataset
- France dataset
Financial Performance of UK Aquatic Operators and Sector Bodies
This database tracks the data reported in annual accounts for 38 aquatic operators and 12 sector bodies from the UK between 2008 to date
Sustainability Performance of UK Aquatic Operators and Sector Bodies
This database tracks the SECR data reported in annual accounts for 18 aquatic operators from the UK between 2008 to date
UK Beaches
This database tracks the location, features, water quality and lifeguard status of 664 UK beaches
UK Public Swimming Pools
This database tracks 3,258 public pools and their location, type, features, dimensions, and estimated Scope 1 and 2 emissions
Contributions
We welcome contributors to the Hub who share our vision and purpose. If you wish to contribute, please get in touch via our contact form.
Royal Life Saving Society UK
I would like to thank the Royal Life Saving Society UK for their generous support for the Qualitative Database of Aquatic Incidents in 2021-22, which will support the development of evidence-based and targetted initiatives to further reduce fatalities and the impact of drownings in the UK.
Baths and Wash Houses Historical Archive
I would like to thank the Baths and Wash Houses Historical Archive for assisting the Hub in accessing key historical records relating to waterslide safety and making these available to the public via their site.
