Kamloops man to continue river safety crusade as city removes ‘unauthorized’ signs

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Griffiths spent about $700 to put up signs warning people of “extreme danger” along parts of the Thompson River, saying the city seemed reluctant to beef up its safety messaging. The red, black and white signs also included names of victims like Jatin Garg, who drowned at Overlander Beach last July.

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“I had [signs like this] installed all along here and the city in their great wisdom decided to spend taxpayer money and get bylaw to come and take them down,” Griffiths said. “The city has its own signs that say ‘ swim at your own risk,’ but I don’t think that’s appropriate.

“I work in industrial safety and I know first hand that one of the best places to communicate risk and hazards is to do it at the place where the risk and hazard exists.”

Alisha Beday, the city’s acting protective services director, said the signs were removed because they were installed on city infrastructure without proper authorization

“The city has a sign regulation bylaw which does regulate the size, the location, the content of signs and so these particular signs didn’t go through that process or follow the bylaw and so that is why they had to be removed,” Beday said.

Beday added the city says its wants its public messaging – like a recently-released safety video – to remain consistent, that the content is appropriate, and that signs are also placed in proper locations.

“We appreciate the messaging the society is trying to spread that awareness with the respect to the river and the safety – or not the safety – of the river,” Beday added. “The door is always open to engage with societies to help educate and to help inform the public.”

Griffiths said he loves the water and wants to see people enjoy it, but with 13 accidental drownings in the Thompson River between 2015 and 2025, he remains steadfast in his quest to raise awareness about the risks, though he won’t be installing new signs.

Instead, he’s calling for a waterfront safety audit done by the Lifesaving Society of BC, saying it could lead to additional safety measures like more warning signs, life rings or beach closures.

“That’s my number one goal is to have the city engage with that authority to promote water safety in Kamloops, especially with national drowning prevention week coming up,” Griffith said. “That’s something we should all be aware of, given the number of drownings we have locally.”

“I’m just one guy trying to make some noise, but I’ll be happy to volunteer in any capacity in any way that I could. Drowning is preventable, and people need to know about the risks and where they can enjoy the water safely.”