Campus canal safety under review after repeated incidents

»I fell forward, hit the bottom, and was completely submerged, head and all. For a brief second, I was completely disoriented and had no idea what had just happened.«

This is how Professor Frederik Waage described his involuntary dip into the canal in front of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) when he was on his way to the metro station on a dark evening. He is not the only one. University Post has reported on several other incidents where people have fallen into the water.

READ ALSO: Another one in the water: Law professor latest to fall into South Campus canal

This led to a professor emeritus, Peter Gøtzsche, speaking up: If someone hits their head and loses consciousness, they could drown, he wrote in the Danish-language section of this media. He called for the canal to be either filled up, or fenced off.

University Post followed up with both UCPH and Ørestad Vandlaug – the property owners’ association and water guild – which manages the area. Both parties have sent written responses, indicating that they are now looking into the matter.

No problems for 20 years

The canal by the Faculty of Law is just a small part of the extensive network of waterways managed by Ørestad Vandlaug. It consists of over six kilometres of canal edges stretching from the street Njalsgade to the Kalvebod Brygge harbour front, according to Pia Vannacci Elnif, head of the secretariat at Ørestad Vandlaug.

And the canal system serves several important functions:

»In the Ørestad district, rainwater from the rooftops is channelled directly into the canals and lakes. This system was integrated into Ørestad’s design from the outset and helps prevent the flooding of parks, streets, and basements during heavy rainfall. Additionally, the canals supply up to two million litres of rainwater annually to Ørestad’s homeowners’ associations, reducing the need for drinking water for irrigation.«

Morten Eriksen, who is the area manager for South Campus at UCPH, adds:

»South Campus has a diverse terrain, which makes the area exciting, but it also means that there is no straight path across campus. The canals have been an integral part of the campus area for over 20 years. They have not caused any problems.«

Revisiting the issue

It now seems that the canals are starting to cause problems however. And although Pia Vannacci Elnif from Ørestad Vandlaug emphasises that they have not previously received any complaints about the canal, they are now looking into the issue, she writes.

»We have not previously received any incident reports from South Campus, but after hearing about the recent unfortunate experiences, we have started reviewing the area. We are also in dialogue with the South Campus administration, and together we are looking into whether we can do something to make the water more visible.«

This is confirmed by Morten Eriksen:

»In light of recent reports, we have examined the area around the canal at the Faculty of Law,« he writes and continues:

»I am in dialogue with Ørestad Vandlaug on whether we can make the canal more visible to pedestrians approaching from the UCPH side. We have shared ideas for possible measures, which we are now exploring further.«

It is Morten Eriksen’s top priority to ensure that campus facilities function properly, he writes:

»So that users can move around safely, and we can avoid unpleasant incidents on campus.«

Both parties encourage people to report any future falls into the water. This can be done at kontakt@orestad.net.