The discourse around reinstating lifeguard services at South Haven beaches continued into the night during the latest city council meeting. The room filled with voices of concern and support as a representative from the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) detailed a plan tailor-made for the lakeside community. If approved, the program could see lifeguards return to South Haven sands for the first time since the 1990s, a move spurred by seven drownings in the Lake Michigan waters adjacent to South Haven since 2019, as noted by WZZM 13.
The council has not yet made a firm decision, considerably factoring in the anticipative feedback from the community. According to WOOD TV, they voted unanimously to require an itemized cost breakdown before moving forward. This includes detailed financials on the staffing and equipment for the suggested lifeguard stations at North and South Beach, which according to the USLA report, could cost approximately $234,000 annually, excluding benefits, for a team of fifteen lifeguards.
In a personal testament to the importance of such measures, Lisa MacDonald, who experienced the tragic loss of her daughter in a drowning at a South Haven beach in 2022, expressed her exasperation with the council's slow progress. "The past two years, we've seen this happen. People come in and make wonderful presentations with all the facts and data and well, they're gonna talk about it next time, and then it gets pushed to next time, and then it's the summer, and they're not talking about it, and then it comes to be January again, and it comes up, but it doesn't come up with the gusto that it needs to. Water safety is something that needs to be talked about 12 months of the year, not just a couple months before the beach season starts," MacDonald told WZZM 13.
Key actions highlighted by the USLA include rescues, medical aid, code enforcement, and acting as local ambassadors. Chris Brewer from the USLA presentation emphasized the proactive nature of a lifeguard's role, stating to the council, "The point is lifeguards aren’t there to wait on the stand until someone gets into trouble and go out and make the rescue. Their job is to prevent the rescue from even happening in the first place," as reported by WOODTV.
The USLA's presence was meant to offer a well-rounded perspective and was born out of a collaboration with local advocates and family members affected by the beach's lack of a lifeguard program. According to WWMT, the resulting plan was crafted with a deep understanding of the community's needs and the value of beach safety.
Now, as South Haven stands at a crossroads, the council plans to meet again on April 21 to further debate the merits and financials of reintroducing lifeguards.
