Thirty-Eight Degrees: The Cold-Water Hazard at Strawberry Reservoir

It was mid-November. A canoe set out from the north shore of Strawberry Reservoir for a multi-day camping and fishing trip. When the paddlers did not return on schedule, family contacted authorities. What search teams found when they reached the water told the story before anyone had to say the words out loud.

The canoe was found overturned and partially submerged near a small island in the reservoir. A dog aboard was found alive, still wearing a life jacket. The people in the canoe were not so fortunate. The water temperature at Strawberry Reservoir in November sits at approximately 38 degrees Fahrenheit, just above freezing and well within the range where cold shock and incapacitation happen within minutes of immersion.

There is no mystery about what the cold does to a person. The initial gasp reflex can pull water into the lungs before a swimmer even realizes what is happening. Muscle function degrades rapidly. The margin between falling in and not surviving can be as narrow as a few seconds of bad luck and a life jacket that was not being worn. What makes these tragedies so hard to prevent is how fast they unfold and how little warning the reservoir gives.

Strawberry’s elevation and geography make it especially prone to fast-moving weather. Storms build behind the ridgeline and arrive before boaters can react. What looks like a manageable afternoon on the water can become a fight for survival in the time it takes to paddle a hundred yards. This is not a once-in-a-decade event. It is a pattern that has repeated across multiple seasons, involving different people, different vessels, and the same cold, unforgiving water.

A capsized vessel also leaves something behind. A canoe submerged near a small island sits in a reservoir that thousands of Utahns use for recreation and that feeds water systems serving communities along the Wasatch Front. Recreational gear, personal effects, and anything the vessel was carrying can become part of the lake floor. These materials do not disappear on their own. Plastics, synthetic fabrics, and any fuel or lubricants a vessel carries begin a slow process of degradation that releases compounds into the water column over time.

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Source: https://www.ksl.com/article/46430177/