Working near water risk assessment template
A working-near-water risk assessment must deal with the fall into water and the ability to rescue a person promptly, not merely name a lifejacket. Record the work position, water and edge conditions, access route, how a fall is prevented, what buoyancy or other mitigation is justified, who raises the alarm, and how a casualty can be recovered without creating another casualty. Use the blank form below at the actual river, dock, canal, reservoir, excavation, tank or other water-side location.
This form is for GB construction and maintenance tasks near or over water or another liquid. It is not a generic safe-to-work certificate. The person planning the task must obtain current site and water information and a competent rescue plan. A tidal, fast-flowing, contaminated, deep or enclosed location may require specialist expertise beyond this form. Work from boats, diving, marine operations and confined spaces have additional requirements and should not be reduced to a generic checklist.
HSE's prevention-of-drowning guidance identifies three linked needs: prevent a fall, support a person who falls in, and effect safe rescue. For construction, CDM 2015 regulation 26 in HSE's L153 guidance requires suitable and sufficient steps to prevent a fall into water so far as reasonably practicable, minimise drowning risk if a fall occurs, and provide maintained rescue equipment for prompt rescue. The duty is about the whole system of work; personal buoyancy alone does not make an unsafe edge acceptable.
Decide whether the water-side task is necessary
First ask whether inspection, installation or maintenance can be done from a safer position: an existing protected walkway, remote camera, land-side access, prefabrication, extended tool or a different sequence. If proximity to water remains necessary, inspect the route and edge. Is there a suitable stable barrier? Could the person slip from a bank, fall through a deck, step into an open excavation or be swept away after entry? Are people transporting materials across the same route?
Consider the actual water at the time of the work. Depth alone is not a reliable risk measure. Cold shock, current, tidal change, submerged structures, contaminated water, difficult exit, saturated clothing and injury on impact can make a short immersion life-threatening. HSE notes these mechanisms in its drowning guidance. A plan written for a calm morning may be unusable after heavy rain or when a tide turns.
Copyable working-near-water assessment
A. Job and water conditions
| Field | Complete on site |
|---|---|
| Site, precise work position and access/egress route | |
| Task, sequence, duration and work group | |
| Assessor, supervisor and person controlling the water-side area | |
| Water type, approximate depth, level changes and known hazards | |
| Current/flow, tide, weather, visibility and forecast source | |
| Bank, deck, quay or edge condition and supporting-structure information | |
| Other users: public, vessels, site vehicles or adjacent contractors | |
| Work equipment, material movements and lifting arrangements | |
| Relevant permit, RAMS, drawings and specialist plans | |
| Assessment issue, approval, review and stop triggers |
Do not replace unknown conditions with guesses. If the edge, water level, structure or available rescue access cannot be assessed, stop and obtain reliable information.
B. Prevention, mitigation and rescue decision
| Decision | Specific method, evidence, owner and check |
|---|---|
| Can the task be done from away from the water? | |
| What stable edge protection or physical segregation prevents a fall? | |
| How are access and transfers protected, including deliveries and breaks? | |
| If a fall remains credible, how is drowning risk reduced? | |
| Is a lifejacket or buoyancy aid needed? Type, fit, condition and user training | |
| How is an alarm raised and where is the precise location given? | |
| Which rescue equipment is available, positioned and inspected? | |
| Who is trained to use it, and where are they during the task? | |
| How will a casualty be removed from the water without rescuers entering danger? | |
| What first aid and post-immersion care is available? | |
| How has the proposed rescue method been checked or practised? |
Where the plan depends on a throw line, lifebuoy, ladder, boat or retrieval system, specify where it is, whether it can reach the likely fall location, who can use it and how the casualty reaches safety. “Call emergency services” is a necessary escalation, not a complete rescue method. Conversely, do not order untrained workers into fast water to improvise a rescue.
C. Hazard and action table
| Stage and hazard | Who may be harmed and how | Controls already verified | Additional action, named owner and before-start hold point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access route: slippery bank, uneven ground, opening or damaged deck | |||
| Unprotected edge or failure of temporary barrier | |||
| Falling from height into water or striking structures | |||
| Current, tide, flood, water-level or weather change | |||
| Cold immersion, fatigue or hypothermia | |||
| Contaminated water, biological or chemical exposure | |||
| Working alone, loss of communication or poor visibility | |||
| Plant, vehicles, lifting operations or dropped materials at edge | |||
| Boats, vessel movement, wash or mooring hazards | |||
| Electrical equipment near water | |||
| Rescue delay, equipment failure or unsafe rescue attempt |
If a separate work-at-height, electrical, lifting, COSHH or boat assessment applies, link it by document reference. A water-side form should coordinate these controls, not pretend to approve specialist plant or electrical design.
D. Emergency card
| Emergency item | Site-specific entry |
|---|---|
| Site address, what3words/grid reference or berth/location description | |
| Access point for ambulance and rescue services | |
| Alarm method and communication backup | |
| Person controlling response and person calling 999 | |
| Rescue equipment position and nominated trained users | |
| Safe extraction point(s) for likely water levels | |
| First aider, dry/warm shelter and handover information | |
| When work stops and area is made safe |
Put the emergency card where the team can use it, not only in a document store. Review it if the team moves along a bank or quay; the nearest usable extraction point and emergency access may change.
E. Briefing and shift release
| Check | Name, time and evidence |
|---|---|
| Current water/edge and weather conditions checked | |
| Barrier and access route inspected | |
| Rescue equipment and communication checked | |
| Required buoyancy equipment fitted and inspected | |
| Team knows alarm, extraction and no-entry rescue rule | |
| Public/other users separated or coordinated | |
| Supervisor releases the task | |
| End-of-shift edge and equipment left safe |
Check after a level change, heavy rainfall, vessel movement, damaged barrier, equipment failure or a change in work location. The review trigger may be much shorter than a calendar review date.
Choosing controls for common situations
Canal or reservoir maintenance from a bank
An inspection team can work from a path behind a sound guardrail for most of the job. One valve is beyond the rail. The team should first consider remote or alternate access; if that is not feasible, they need a planned temporary protected position and a rescue method suited to the bank. A lifejacket may reduce one consequence if entry remains credible, but it does not replace a barrier. The bank, depth and recovery point need inspection before the task.
Bridge or platform over a river
Both a fall from height and drowning are relevant. A fall-arrest choice must not be made in isolation; the consequences of suspension or impact near the water, anchorage suitability and rescue need specialist consideration. HSE's MEWP selection guidance says that near water the assessment should consider whether falling from the basket or drowning if the MEWP falls in is the greater risk. The generic form should flag that decision, not prescribe one harness rule for every platform.
Tidal or fast-flowing location
Establish a safe work window, tide and weather information, routes that will remain accessible, a competent water-rescue strategy and a stop point before conditions deteriorate. Where the plan depends on reaching an exposed position at a particular tide, allow for delay and equipment failure. A throw line alone may be inadequate if current and downstream hazards prevent safe recovery. The competent team must select equipment for the real conditions.
Common mistakes to remove before approval
- Assuming shallow water is harmless. Cold shock, impact, mud, flow or an inaccessible bank may make recovery difficult.
- Writing only “wear lifejackets”. First show why a fall cannot be prevented and how the person will be located and recovered.
- Leaving rescue to a distant service. The site needs a practicable immediate response and accurate location information.
- Copying equipment distances from a different sector. A dock, fish farm, canal bank and bridge have different layouts and rules; do not reuse an unrelated specification as a universal standard.
- Ignoring the route to the work. Workers may pass an exposed edge before reaching the assessed workstation.
- Omitting water change. Rain, sluices, tides, vessels and weather can invalidate yesterday's assessment.
The supervisor should stop the task when any critical control is missing: edge protection, safe access, communications, rescue capability, the expected water conditions or competent supervision. Reassess before restarting.
How Complys fits
The RAMS page is relevant when this assessment must accompany a step-by-step construction method. The risk assessment software page describes keeping assessments and actions controlled. A software record cannot determine a safe water-rescue technique, predict a tide or certify a barrier; competent people must make those decisions from current conditions.
Next step: walk the route, verify water and edge conditions, complete the prevention-and-rescue fields, test the arrangements with the team, and release work only when the controls are present.
Source, claim and writer-side QA register — checked 5 October 2026
| Material claim | Primary source | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Prevent a fall into water, minimise drowning risk and provide prompt rescue for construction work | HSE L153, CDM regulation 26 | Applies to construction context; other sectors may have additional requirements. |
| Cold shock, saturated clothing, injury and delayed rescue increase drowning risk | HSE prevention of drowning | Assess actual water and access conditions. |
| Barriers, alarm, buoyancy and safe rescue form linked controls | HSE prevention of drowning | No universal equipment list or distance imposed. |
| MEWP work near water needs the competing fall/drowning risks assessed | HSE GEIS6 | Competent specialist choice for platform and personal protection. |
Cannibalisation: no exact live task-specific near-water assessment form observed; distinct from generic RA/RAMS pages. Confirm current repository, unpublished owners and exact route. Product truth: observed .co.uk RAMS and RA links only; no automated rescue, tidal or barrier claim. Jurisdiction: GB/HSE construction emphasis. Links/CTA: RAMS and assessment software, subject to route and implementation check. Writer-side QA: copyable form, prevention-rescue sequence, water-condition and emergency card, practical scenarios, source register and specialist gates. Independent whole-page and repo QA remain outstanding.