Advocates call for lifeguards, school water education and data improvements after Michigan drownings

Advocates and survivors’ families told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security that Michigan’s drowning toll — concentrated in natural waters and the Great Lakes — requires state action including lifeguards at high‑use beaches, expanded water‑safety education and better data collection.

Dr. Greg Field, a water‑safety researcher, told the committee ‘‘it is truly a public health crisis’’ and said the state Department of Health and Human Services records 703 Michigan resident drowning deaths from 2018 through 2022, with roughly 40% occurring on natural waters. Presenters said those counts likely understate the true total because some drownings are coded as vehicle accidents or recorded in other data systems.

Bob Pratt of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project described average annual fatality counts on the Great Lakes and said Lake Michigan accounts for about half of recorded Great Lakes drownings; he said populations and beach usage in the lower Lake Michigan corridor concentrate risk. Pratt noted the state has very few guarded public beaches: he identified two guarded Lower Peninsula state‑park beaches (St. Joseph and New Buffalo) and said most public shorelines lack lifeguards.

Lisa McDonald, who lost her daughter Emily in a 2022 Lake Michigan drowning, described arriving at the hospital and told lawmakers she ‘‘began to realize our daughter was dead’’ and urged the state to require better beach safety and lifeguard coverage in tourist towns.

Presenters recommended three broad interventions: (1) expand and standardize lifeguard and rapid‑response services at high‑use public beaches and designated swim areas; (2) require or fund age‑appropriate water‑safety and swim‑skills instruction in schools and community programs; and (3) improve drowning surveillance and public messaging to parents and caregivers. They also urged removing or revising the ‘‘green flag’’ in beach‑flag systems, arguing it creates a misleading perception of safety.

Witnesses said lifeguards and quick rescue capacity are essential because bystanders and first responders typically cannot reach an active drowning victim within the critical three‑minute window. They cited a cost‑benefit study suggesting lifeguard services can reduce economic burden from drowning and called for pilot programs to staff lifeguards at state parks and to develop scalable models for municipalities.

Presenters also said schools rarely provide water‑safety education: a representative survey cited at the hearing found roughly 11% of Michigan schools offer swim lessons or water‑safety instruction and 13% include water‑safety material in classrooms. The witnesses said the state can follow models such as Minnesota, which provides state funding for school swim programs, and recommended using statewide campaigns (for example, linking messages to Pure Michigan) to reach parents.

Legislators asked whether victims were strong swimmers and questioned DNR policy and local variations; presenters replied that drownings occur to experienced swimmers and that the Department of Natural Resources’ role as a parks agency complicates scaling lifeguard services, which presenters said should be treated as a public‑safety function.

Witnesses said a Senate bill proposing water‑safety education in schools is pending and encouraged committee members to support education, lifeguard pilots and enhanced surveillance. The committee did not vote on related measures during the hearing.

Sources: testimony from Dr. Greg Field, Bob Pratt (Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project), Lisa McDonald and other water‑safety witnesses to the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security.