Can MI do more to cut rip current risk?

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) - Neighboring West Michigan beaches offer different warning systems and rescue equipment to protect swimmers from rip currents and other dangers, the executive director of South Haven Area Emergency Services told lawmakers Thursday, and it's a problem.

"Each time it's different, it opens us up to liability," Ronald Wise said an interview with 24 Hour News 8 after his testimony. "When we want to put advisories out, communities are always worried about, if they do something to help protect the public, does it open them up for liability?"

Fear of lawsuits could prevent communities from installing rescue equipment, critics argue.

And they say differences in warning systems and equipment create less a effective system for alerting beachgoers.

"We're asking the state to set out a model plan for communities to follow," Wise said.

The emergency services director likens it to road rules.

"Say, in the city of South Haven, we need to close a street down or do a project. We follow the guidelines of where the cones need to be, where the barricades need to be. If there was an accident or something happened, they would come at us and ask what happened. And we'd tell them we followed the guidelines from the state of Michigan."

Two Republican state Senators from lakeshore communities say they are looking at both issues: liability and uniformity.

Sen. John Proos of St. Joseph said Michigan should be looking at "best practices" of other states. Florida, he said, has a more consistent pattern of warning flags and a consistent key to help swimmers understand.

Sen. Geoff Hansen of Hart said "we're going to try and work this together so everybody along the lakeshore will have the same type of warning system, have the same type of flag system. Whatever we're going to do, we need to have one voice in this."

Hansen said he held Thursday's hearing because education about rip currents is critical.

"We don't want people to fear our lakes, but we want them to respect the water," he said.

Testimony included how different communities -- Marquette, Mackinac County and the Grand Haven area among them -- inform swimmers about rip currents. Ron Kinnunen of Michigan Sea Grant, a University of Michigan-Michigan State University partnership, listed the efforts.

The group is looking at some way to actively alert beachgoers about rip current conditions specific to their location. The National Weather Services does offer surf forecasts in some areas, including West Michigan.

WOOD TV8 offers a rip current forecast and rip current text alerts at our Safe Water page.