Stay Safe this Summer

MPA’s Stay Safe campaign is on-going and run to prevent members of the public being killed or injured in industry managed quarries and related sites due to venturing in uninvited and without permission.

MPA’s primary focus is on public safety in member operated or owned quarries. However, as incidents involving members of the public are predominantly water related and can include quarry lakes at legacy sites not managed by the industry, we recognise the need to support the wider context of drowning prevention. MPA is collaborating with other organisations with a wider interest in water safety and drowning prevention and supports the National Water Safety Forum.

MPA is also keen to ensure that current owners of former quarry sites understand the public safety issues and the support that is available to them.

Many former sites of mineral extraction have been restored and include quarry lakes, often these sites have become public amenities or nature reserves. The quarry lakes frequently have very deep, cold water, sudden changes in depth and unstable sides that can be difficult to exit. Like other man-made water filled voids such as reservoirs, these sites may be enjoyed from the land but are not suitable for swimming, particularly by individuals who are unaware of the potential hazards.

Tragically, National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) figures show that the majority (57%) of accidental drowning deaths in 2025 occurred at inland locations such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals, quarry lakes and lochs. This continues an established trend in UK drowning data, with inland locations consistently accounting for more than half of all accidental drowning deaths since 2019.

The campaign includes the following activities:

• Working with our members and the wider industry – sharing guidance and good practice. Providing updates and reminders via industry communications and social media.
• Supporting community liaison, especially at high-risk sites.
• Producing resources to use with schools and local communities.

And in partnership:

• Supporting the National Water Safety Forum and The UK National Drowning Prevention Strategy
• Supporting Scotland's Drowning Prevention Strategy
• Supporting Wales’s Drowning Prevention Strategy (currently in redraft)
• Supporting MPA Northern Irelands campaign and their work with HSENI
• Supporting National Water Safety Forum’s Respect the Water campaign respectthewater.com
• Involvement in national and regional multi-agency safety forums in England, Scotland, and Wales. MPA participates in the National Water Safety Forum’s Communications Group, working with its members and other organisations to raise awareness of the hazards associated with open water and ways of mitigating these risks. MPA Wales is a member of Water Safety Wales
• MPA is collaborating with and supporting organisations such as the Fire and Rescue Services, RNLI, RLSS and RoSPA in their campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers associated with open water safety
• Sharing best practice. MPA is supporting this RoSPA publication for those who are managing land which is adjacent to inland waters - as quarry lakes, reservoirs, rivers, canals, lakes, lochs, harbours, ponds, and streams
• Maintaining statistics on fatalities and injuries and sharing with the Water Incident Database (WAID) managed by the National Water Safety Forum.

For more information contact Elizabeth Clements