07/07/05 Irrigation canal safety

A 14 month old Utah toddler drowned in an eastern Idaho irrigation canal last Friday after he and a two year old cousin opened a gate and got out of a yard. Canals can be death traps for young children and that's why parents can't ever be off guard. BAXTER "My name is Laura Baxter. I'm the mother of three wonderful children. Unfortunately one of my children is no longer with us. You see an irrigation canal ran through the neighborhood we were living in. My two and a half year old daughter Jordan drowned in that canal. My kids were playing outside while I planted flowers in the front yard. I went into the garage to get some potting soil and when I came out my two and a half year old was gone." The Twin Falls girl was found in the canal 14 blocks away but all efforts to revive her failed. Last year six people, both children and adults drowned in Idaho irrigation canals. They may look like inviting places to play in or play around on a hot day but they're not for swimming, diving, tubing or floating. Canal water is usually cold, moving at a fast rate of speed, with a variety of falls, head gates, screens and other devices that can harm people. Canal banks are almost always vertical and nearly impossible to get out of because of those slippery slopes. A reminder, the only safe canal is one that you stay away from. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott