The City of Two Rivers has installed a new beach conditions warning system at Neshotah Beach. The SwimSmart Beach Alert system aims to enhance beach safety by providing real-time updates on water conditions, directly from the National Weather Service. PC: Fox 11 Online
TWO RIVERS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The waters of Lake Michigan and be tricky and sometimes even deadly. So far this year, seven people have died in the lake’s water.
The City of Two Rivers has added a new alert system to try and make swimming at Neshotah Beach safer.
On an 80 degree day, Neshotah Beach in Two Rivers is a popular place to be. The beach is full of people enjoying the sunshine, with some brave beachgoers even taking a dip in the chilly Lake Michigan waters.
And this summer, as people arrive at the beach, they’ll notice some new signage at the entrance to the park and the beach itself.
“I think it’s a great idea. Yeah, you need to know what the waves are doing for you. If you’re going to go out there you need to be careful,” said Lorene Foglesong from Illinois.
The City of Two Rivers recently completed the installation of a SwimSmart Beach Alert system, in three different places in the park.
Parks and Rec Director, Mark Mathis, said, “It looks like a stoplight, red, yellow and green and that will kind of help you get some guidance on what water conditions are doing at the beach.”
The SwimSmart Beach Alert system runs off data from the National Weather Service. The NWS monitors winds and waves and how those things mix together to create certain currents or difficult swimming conditions.
Depending on the conditions, the alert system will shine red, yellow or green.
According to Mathis, “Green means it’s safe. It’s a very calm day. Yellow means yeah, there’s probably some wave action, a little bit of wind. And then red is this is really quite dangerous situation where you shouldn’t probably be in the water at all.”
Paid for, by the city’s room tax, the warning system cost a little less than $30,000, a small investment that could prove to be priceless for swimmers and beach goers.
“As always, with a body of water like this I think you have to use good judgement and so a warning system is, I think, an asset to the public coming in to the park,” said Joel Brassfield of Two Rivers.
With no lifeguards on duty, the extra warning is a welcome safety message for those at the beach.
Deb Tews of Wrightstown added, “I think people forget there really is an inherent danger in this big of a body of water. The lights are so cool because the flags, there was always the cumbersome nature of having to change the flags when the conditions change, and this way they can do it electronically.”
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