As the summer period continues towards another public holiday, experts fear more drownings could occur and urge Canberrans to approach water safely.
The 2022 national drowning report by Royal Life Saving Australia reported 339 people lost their lives to drowning while a further 686 experienced a non-fatal drowning incident.
While Canberrans are inland, the NSW South Coast and freshwater sites have been popular destinations during the summer period and the report found 114 people drowned in a river or creek last year.
Royal Life Saving Australia's chief executive Justin Scarr said he feared people were becoming too complacent when around water without the right swimming skills.
"My observation over summer is Australians don't swim at the beach, or at a river, or a lake, they stand," he said.
"I fear that breeds complacency, that actually they would lack the swimming skills to stay afloat or swim to safety if a current swept them away."
The next major public holiday will be on January 26 as many Canberrans are likely to make their way down the coast or to freshwater sights, which Mr Scarr said was on their radar.
"Traditionally we would be talking about men and risking taking ... and we haven't, we've been focused on a range of other issues, but the closer we get to Australia Day ... the more important it is for men to make the right call," he said.
Most drownings are associated with rips or currents pulling people from the edge of the ocean or river, which beach safety expert from the University of New South Wales Rob Brander said leads to panic taking people under.
"Once you start to panic, you get scared you might start swimming, but if you're stuck in a rip, you probably start swimming back to the beach against the rip and then you get tired and you get exhausted," he said.
"The thing to realise if you are stuck in a rip current, they're not going to pull you under the water, they're not going to take you to New Zealand or shark infested waters, they're just taking you for a ride."
The recent drowning of an off-duty police officer at the South Coast on January 3 after he was rescuing his 14-year-old son sparked further concerns on how parents approach visiting the water with their children.
Professor Brander said the most important thing to do, while it was difficult, was to remain calm.
"If you see somebody in trouble and it's one of your children, the parents are going to go in, but the key thing to remember is don't rush in," he said.
"Take 10 seconds or more, go get somebody to go get help, maybe the lifeguards are further down the beach, maybe somebody can call trip zero.
"If there's something that floats like an esky lid, a ball, a boogie board because if you bring that flotation device with you, you can hold onto it, the person you're rescuing can hold onto it."
Seeking patrolled locations and being extra cautious at unpatrolled areas was another recommendation made by drowning prevention specialist, Dr Amy Peden from UNSW said.
"It's really important that people choose to swim at a patrolled beach during patrol times between the flags," she said.
"That means doing a bit of searching making sure you're choosing holiday accommodation near to a patrolled beach."
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