Irrigation district fined $365K stemming from 2022 diver death

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on February 26, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

The Eastern Irrigation District has been penalized $365,000 following the death of a diver.

The EID pleaded guilty to failing to ensure an intake mechanism was locked out before a dive began, and was sentenced on Feb. 19 in the Brooks Court of Justice.

The charges stem from an incident at the Lake Newell and Rolling Hills Reservoirs in October 2022, the province says. A diver was assessing, inspecting and completing work on the reservoir’s gates and suffered fatal injuries during the dive.

The court ordered the irrigation district to pay a total $365,000, with $300,000 to the Central Alberta Rescue Diving Society for equipment and training, and $65,000 to the Alberta Underwater Council for a safety campaign directed toward divers and employers.

This is part of a creative sentencing, which under the OHS Act allows for funds that would otherwise be paid as fines to be directed to an organization or project to improve or promote workplace health and safety.

Both the irrigation district and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalties.

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