Shelby reservoir safety focus of Eagle Scout project
By David Jacobs
With winter's icy waters and unpredictable conditions at Shelby Reservoir 3, one local Eagle Scout is on a mission to make the area safer year-round.
Shelby High School student Avery Mongold spoke to the Shelby City Council recently about his Eagle Scout project, which involves installing safety equipment at Shelby Reservoir 3.
“I’m here to talk about my Eagle Scout project," Mongold said in opening remarks on March 3 to local government officials. "I would like to install some safety equipment, including a life ring and rescue lines."
The life ring — a buoy thrown to a person in the water during an emergency — would be stationed by the dock.
"The typical life ring -- a buoy -- you throw it out, people who fall off the boat,” Mongold explained. “It's very easy. So it just helps people to help people without getting themselves hurt."
With a surface area of 51 acres, Shelby Reservoir 3 is in northeast Shelby off London West Road, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports.
"Several reefs and rock piles were constructed throughout the bottom of the lake as fish habitat," it details. "Depths in the reservoir range from 12 to 28 feet."
Mongold explained the purpose of the safety equipment and how it would be used in emergency situations.
He described the versatility of the life rings in different conditions.
"These can be used for a regular rescue close to the shore," Mongold said. "Someone falls off the docks and goes in, or it can be used when it's ice. It's freezing and thawing of this type of season. And because there's ice fishing out on the reservoir as well."
"This can help someone," he continued. "They throw out the bag, hold onto the rope…and they can pull someone in without going on the ice themselves."
Mongold also expressed a desire to add a few rescue lines around the reservoir's perimeter.
"While these lines are versatile and can be used during the summertime as well, I expect that they are particularly useful when the water is frozen and a victim might be near the edge but still in deeper water," he said in a letter to the city earlier this winter as the project was at its beginning stages.
"While the risk may be lower, I also know that approximately 250 people die [in the U.S.] from falling in ice on water every single year, and I don't believe our reservoir is exempt from such risks," Mongold also wrote. "I have seen footprints on the ice while visiting the reservoir. I fear these footprints foreshadow the inevitable, that somebody will risk walking out onto the frozen reservoir and could easily fall in."
He expects that these lines "are particularly useful when the water is frozen and a victim might be near the edge but still in deeper water."
"Fundraising for this project would fall on my shoulders," Mongold wrote in his letter dated Jan. 30. "I will be asking for donations from a few local businesses and expect support from family and friends. I will also have the support of my scout troop to help."
The project was nearing completion as Mongold spoke to the council.
Shelby City Councilman Eric Cutlip praised Mongold’s efforts.
"I just like to say this is a wonderful idea, and thank you for doing this," Cutlip said.
In the letter to John Ensman, Shelby municipal utilities director and the city's deputy public service director, Mongold said that "while drowning in swimming pools gets significant attention, the truth is that more Americans fatally drown in open water."
"I would like to help reduce the chance of our community facing such a tragedy," Mongold wrote.
He noted that he has been a lifeguard at Shelby's Seltzer municipal swimming pool for two years, and is also a trained guard for the local Boy Scout troop.
"Water safety has always been very important to me," he wrote.
Shelby Reservoir 3 is classified as an upground reservoir, the state notes. It was built in 1993 by the city of Shelby for use as a municipal water supply.
To make it official, Shelby City Councilman Nathan Martin made a motion at the meeting to allow the safety items to be installed at Reservoir 3. This was seconded by Councilman Derrin Roberts, the Safety Committee chairman, and passed 5-0 in a roll call vote at the March 3 meeting.