Young people are jumping off Commonwealth Avenue bridge while drunk as a dare or to impress their mates.
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It comes as figures show there have been seven confirmed accidental drownings - as opposed to suicides - in Lake Burley Griffin over almost 20 years.
All but one of the drowning victims in the lake was male.
The practice of jumping off the bridge for a dare or lark has horrified the Royal Life Saving Society Australia which says the lake may look calm but is an unpredictable body of water.
The maximum distance between the bridge platform and the water is 10.5m.
The depth of water across Lake Burley Griffin varies greatly, with maps indicating the water under the bridge is between 5m and 6m deep.
A 20-year-old man has told The Canberra Times ''virtually his whole year'' jumped off Commonwealth Avenue bridge as part of a tradition on their college graduation night.
He jumped off the bridge fully clothed twice on the night. The young man said he was ''pretty pissed'' at the time.
''I jumped off, swam out and did it again,'' he said. ''It was pretty cold at the time.''
The man said he knew the lake could be shallow at the ends of the bridge but believed he was safe jumping off the middle.
A young woman has also told The Canberra Times that she jumped off the Commonwealth Avenue bridge three times on the one night while she was drunk - and in fancy dress.
She said it was during Orientation Week at her university several years ago when she was dressed in a retro snow ski suit and walking back to college after a party. Two of her friends also jumped off the bridge.
''We all sort of launched off and did it a few times in a row,'' she said.
''I remember doing it quite clearly even though I was pretty drunk, although not annihilated.''
The coroner is yet to investigate the cause of death of William Boyle, 21, whose body was recovered from Lake Burley Griffin on October 23 after his wallet, mobile phone and shorts were found near the Commonwealth Avenue bridge. His father Peter said at the time that his son was ''just skylarking and it's just a mistake because of alcohol''.
Mr Boyle has declined to comment further until the coroner makes a ruling but has indicated he welcomed a warning against people jumping from the bridge.
Royal Life Saving Society Australia ACT executive officer Sean Hodges said the combination of alcohol and risky behaviour such as jumping off a bridge could prove a fatal mix.
Mr Hodges said there was no safe way of jumping off the bridge into the lake.
''A lake has water that you can't see the bottom of,'' he said.
''It has cold currents. It might appear to be flat water but when you can't see the bottom you don't know how deep it is or if there are objects submerged.
''When you're under the influence of alcohol, it's also quite easy to get disorientated when you jump off and land on your stomach. Some people also start swimming down, rather than up.''
The society has highlighted in its latest annual report that men are 3 times more likely to drown than women, with men aged 18 to 34 years of particular concern to authorities.
The report shows 315 people drowned in Australia in 2010-11, including 62 men aged 18 to 34 who most commonly died in rivers, streams or creeks.
''The statistics show males are at a higher risk of drowning because they engage in more risky activities. It might be for showing off or it might be for that adrenalin rush. We're not sure exactly but we need to address it,'' Mr Hodges said.
The ACT Coroner says seven accidental drownings in Lake Burley Griffin were reported to its office between 1993 and 2010, the latest available records. Two young men aged 16 and 19 drowned in the lake in 1996. A man aged 64 drowned in the lake in 2000. A 28-month-old girl died in the lake in 2002. A 32-year-old man drowned in the lake in 2004. And a man aged 30 and a man aged 40 drowned in 2009.