Dinas Rock Pools Safety Session - 18th September 2009 Objectives •    To explore the pools used in gorge walking in the Sychryd and Mellte •    To check for depth, underwater obstacles and dangers. •    To discuss safe use of the pools for jumping The Session Members of the OPC met late afternoon. There had been no rain for sometime leaving the rivers low and flowing clearly. We walked up the Sychryd to inspect the three pools at the far end of the gorge walking section of this river. To identify these pools we are calling them Ivy Pool, Waterfall Climb Pool and Waterfall Crawl Pool. We then made our way over to the Old Gunpowder Woks on the Mellte to have a look at Loonies Leap Pool. Outcomes Ivy Pool is usually run as a traverse. It was noted that although generally safe, if within the stream-way at the exit of this pool a client would be out of depth, the pool being 7ft deep at this point. The sides of the pool are generally smooth slab and it has a shingle floor. Waterfall Climb Pool was thoroughly dived and had depth checks at various points. It was found that it poses danger to a jumping client in various places. Looking upstream the cliff under the tree that is sometimes used by groups jumping is deeply undercut and poses a risk in high water. The deepest area is on this side and it was decided that jumping could take place in low water conditions if clients crossed over the stream-way and jumped into the white water from the side of the main water flow. The pool at this point is 8ft deep. The area on the left of the pool, again looking upstream, has ledges between two and three feet below the surface and three feet out from the edge of the small cliff next to the waterfall, which a client would have to clear when jumping. There is also a metal spike protruding from the shingle on this side. It was noted that the depth of this pool was decreasing as it has been filling with shingle washed into the pool over the last couple of years. Waterfall Crawl Pool was thoroughly dived and had depth checks at various points. It was found that it poses danger to a jumping client in various places. Looking upstream the cliff on the right is very deeply undercut. This continues under surface level behind the waterfall. This poses a severe risk to clients in high water. A jump from the far end of the crawl in low water conditions was regarded as safe as this pool, in contrast to the Climb Pool is increasing in depth. It was estimated that the depth of water for this jump was 10ft. The area on the left of the pool, again looking upstream, was in place shallow and jumping from the concrete platform should not take place. We agreed that a straight step-in jump from the middle level RHS (looking upstream) was appropriate, but no jumping from the top level or any kind of gymnastic jumps would be allowed. Loonies Leap Pool was thoroughly dived and had depth checks at various points. It was found that it poses danger to a jumping client in various places. This pool was extremely deep but this deep area was to be found only in the area of main water flow. Looking upstream the area on the right, beneath the platform jump, was not as deep as expected. A jump from this platform ought to be into the edge of the main water flow, this will take the jumping client into the deeper section of the pool. There is a rounded boulder on this side which some touch when jumping in. This could pose a snagging problem for clients attached to a rope. The area on the left of the pool, again looking upstream, is slab that inclines towards the deep area. A client jumping from the pillar, loonies leap, should aim for the edge of the main water flow, the same point as described for the lower jump. A jump must reach the white water, as there is a risk of hitting the underwater ledges which extend out from the platform on this side of the pool There is not enough depth to safely contemplate the running jump, or super-loonies. To Do... •    Re-dive the pools in three years time •    Monitor the pool environments and note any changes as they occur •    Make all staff aware of this report