Two people suffering broken legs recently jumping off of Refrigerator Rock in the Allegheny Reservoir make this a good time to remind everyone swimming at the reservoir to practice some measure of safety while doing so.

Allegheny National Forest regulations prohibit jumping off of bridges and other man-made structures, but jumping off of natural features like Refrigerator Rock is allowed.

Of course, there is a difference between jumping off of Refrigerator Rock when the water levels are normal and doing so when the water level is more than 50 inches less than normal.

Swimmers need to check the water level before jumping off of tall rocks. As we learned last week, not all swimmers do so — and two people will spend the next few months recuperating from their injuries after learning a hard lesson.

Rather than changing the regulations to make jumping off natural features against regulations, perhaps the the water level should be posted each week with safety information about the depth needed to safely jump off of the rocks. Such a change would not cost much and give swimmers the information they need to use the reservoir safely.